Pokemon Adventures
by Holden Hill
Summary: A story about me an my Friends Brooke an Michelle if we were Pokemon Trainters.  Well, more like vagrents


Chapter 1

After a heartfelt goodbye, three young adventurers leave the peaceful little town of Milford. The oldest, a tall 17 year old girl named Michelle, walks in back attempting to coax her very distracted Piplup to follow. Piplup however, a small brightly colored blue penguin, seems more interested in sampling every piece of vegetation it encounters. It eventually gives up after nibbling on some poison ivy.

In the front is a sixteen year old boy named R.J. He has a tall lanky figure and rather long hair for a guy, resting just over the top of his shoulders. His Cyndaquil, a fire Pokémon with bristles of fire coming off its back, is far ahead of him. It's running on all fours, as it always does, looking back from time to time to make sure R.J. is following.

In the center is a tall 17 year old girl with short hair (even shorter than R.J.'s) and a large comical smile. She is giggling at Michelle and R.J. as they try to rally their Pokémon. In her arms she's carrying her Bulbasaur, a small four legged Pokémon, about the same size as Cyndaquil. It has a plant bulb on its back and stubby arms, and is investigating a pencil it had pulled out of Brooke's backpack.

At this moment Michelle realized that she was falling behind the others, and called for them to slow down.

"So, where are we going?" Michelle asked after catching up. She had managed to get Piplup under control, and he was looking around hungrily from her arms.

"Ask R.J." Brooke answered. "He's got the map."

"North," R.J. said confidently, "Toward Vera City."

"Why there?" Brooke interjected.

"Well, we don't necessarily have a goal, we can get better supplies there, and it's not like there's another city around. Why not?"

"How do you know?"

"Does it matter? There are signs on the road, and if we get lost we'll eventually end up in another city."

Brooke didn't argue. R.J. was right, though she felt uncomfortable not knowing where they were. Besides, she trusted R.J. He always seemed to get around with ease, and rarely got lost.

Suddenly Piplup reached over to bite one of the leaves on Bulbasaur's back. Bulbasaur immediately yelped and pulled away. Michelle pulled Piplup back and scolded him. Piplup lowered its head, and Bulbasaur looked away, already plotting its revenge.

As the sun came to crest at the horizon, Michelle worked on rolling out some sleeping bags. Piplup wandered around aimlessly, spraying water on everything. Bulbasaur gathered logs and brought them into a pile, while R.J. tried to convince Cyndaquil to light them. But every time he did Piplup ran by, putting it out. Eventually Michelle calmed Piplup down, and R.J. managed to start a fire, so the three of them sat down.

Michelle pulled out a pack of marshmallows and gave a few to each of them. R.J. pulled some sticks out of the pile of firewood and used them to roast the marshmallows. Michelle began to put one on her stick; however when she reached for a second one, Piplup snatched it off her stick. After a few attempts she realized what was going on, and held it out of Piplup's reach.

After roasting a marshmallow to perfection, Michelle made a strange yelping noise, like a squeak.

"What was that?" asked Brooke, laughing and choking at the same time.

"It, uh…" Michelle started to chuckle, "It was a _hiccup_. For some reason they just happen, one or two at a time. I really don't know why."

The three had a good laugh and continued roasting their marshmallows. Michelle's eyes wandered aimlessly around the campsite, and came to rest on Bulbasaur, who was calmly watching the fire. She appeared peaceful, though Michelle's eyebrows were furrowed while watching her.

"Bulbasaur's upset," said Michelle suddenly.

Brooke looked down at her Pokémon, who looked as calm as could be.

"How do you know? She doesn't look upset to me," said Brooke.

"I can feel it. Fire is her natural weakness. She's worried that if it spreads, she'll get burned. Touch her. She'll react."

Brooke reached out to touch her Pokémon, who quickly pulled away as if she were frightened. After a few seconds she settled back down, watching the fire. Brooke looked nervously at Michelle.

"You're going to have to tell her now," R.J. said from across the fire.

"Tell me what?" asked Brooke.

Michelle looked down at her roasting stick; the marshmallows were gone again.

"You're going to be spending a lot more time with her," R.J. said. "She needs to know."

"She's not gonna believe me," said Michelle. "You didn't at first."

"Tell me what?"

"Brooke," R.J. said, "A year ago, my uncle died. Somehow, Michelle knew before I had even told her."

"I can sense auras and feel the emotions of others. Sometimes, others can feel mine as well."

"How does that work?" asked Brooke skeptically.

"Told you she wouldn't believe me," said Michelle, looking down.

"She will in time," R.J. assured her.

"How does that work?" Brooke asked again. "I don't get it."

"Well, usually it shows up as a faint blue light. I can't always tell, but Bulbasaur is clearly upset."

"What does mine look like?"

"Everyone asks that," said Michelle, looking up at Brooke. "Right now it's just… sort of a blue color. Usually peoples' auras are just blue. Certain shades mean you're sad, but usually it just means you're content. Now it's turned a deep shade of green, which means you're really thinking about something."

"Sure, you can tell that by some color coming off of me. No way."

Piplup sneezed and shot out a jet of water, dousing the fire. The campsite went dark except for the faint glow of Cyndaquil's flames.

"Well," R.J. said, "I guess that means it's time for bed."

The next morning R.J. was awakened by Piplup, who was gnawing at his hair. Having already been awakened by Piplup herself, Michelle pulled him away.

"He woke me up the same way," she chuckled, setting Piplup down next to her.

Michelle's hair was long and normally ran all the way down her back. Today, however, it was tied back into a bun, most likely to keep Piplup from chewing on it.

Brooke, Bulbasaur, and Cyndaquil were still sleeping. With each breath the flames on Cyndaquil's back would rise and fall.

Michelle was holding a pan over a low fire. In it were two small eggs.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully. "I'm making breakfast."

She reached into her backpack and pulled out plates for each of them. She slid two beautifully prepared eggs onto one of the plates and handed it to R.J.

"Isn't he adorable?" she asked, smiling.

"Who?" asked R.J.

"Cyndaquil. That's so cool how the flames move when he breathes."

"Cyndaquil's a girl."

"He is?"

"_She_ is. Cyndaquil is a 'she'."

"How can you tell?"

"Professor Elm told me before we left."

"Oh."

As if she heard them talking, Cyndaquil began to stir. She walked over to R.J.'s plate and instinctively tried to take his food. R.J. lifted the plate away from her, so she sat and begged.

"I guess she likes eggs," said Michelle, turning back to the fire.

"She'll settle for some berries."

R.J. reached into his backpack and pulled out some of Cyndaquil's favorite berries. Cyndaquil began eating them and the flames on her back rose.

After about an hour everyone was awake and fed, so they set out on the road again. About midday they arrived at a cave. R.J. looked down at his map and realized that they had arrived at Rock Run cavern. The dark cave looked ominous from the outside.

Brooke pulled a torch from her backpack and used Cyndaquil's flames to light it. They stepped cautiously into the cave and set out through the tunnels.

"You know, all sorts of Pokémon live in these caves," said Brooke. They had no Poked and of the three of them, Brooke knew the most about Pokémon. Before her Poked had broken, she had studied it thoroughly and learned a lot about many different species of Pokémon.

"What kinds live around here?" asked Michelle.

"Well, there's Geodude and Graveler. Golem lives high in the mountains. There's Diglett and occasionally Dugtrio. Sometimes there's grass-type Pokémon like Paras.

Under rare conditions you'll find an Onix or Steelix, or even a Pokémon like Regirock. Did you know that when Onix encounters another large Pokémon, it will oftentimes start a fight? Wild Onix tend to be easily agitated and territorial, and the more powerful they are, the larger they grow. Onix doesn't usually become _that_ powerful, though."

As Brooke finished her lecture, Bulbasaur suddenly ran off far ahead of the others and into the darkness.

"She's angry," Michelle said. "Her aura's red."

"We have to stop her! She'll get lost!"

The three of them took off in pursuit of the Pokémon. However, R.J. tripped on a rock and fell hard onto the ground. Michelle and Brooke followed suit, tripping over R.J. Bulbasaur kept on running into the darkness.

R.J., Brooke, and Michelle quickly regained their footing and took off after Bulbasaur, who had disappeared surprisingly fast.

After a few minutes, the three picked up on a trail of circular-shaped Pokémon tracks which closely resembled Bulbasaur's stubby paws. They continued searching down the dark corridors until the torch Brooke was holding began to sputter out. Suddenly, the light flickered out completely and the cave turned pitch black.

"Cyndaquil," R.J. said and their surroundings shone faintly in Cyndaquil's flames. Brooke ignited another torch and held it up so they could see.

"How long would you say that lasted?" asked Michelle.

R.J. looked down at the faint hands of his watch.

"I'd say about an hour."

"Okay. And how many do we have left?"

Brooke rifled through her backpack and counted five unlit torches.

"Okay," said R.J. "Including the one we have lit now, that gives us six hours."

They continued to wander through the cave until their torch began to burn out. Brooke handed the torch to R.J. so that she could light the next one, and then handed him that one as well.

"My arms are getting tired," she said.

Nearby, a deep moan pierced the darkness. R.J. held the torch out in front of him. A few yards away Bulbasaur was lying weakly in a pile of rocks. She perked up instantly at the sight of her friends, but didn't move. Brooke, R.J., and Michelle charged forward to come to the aid of their fallen friend.

Suddenly, the rocks began to move and an enormous snake made entirely of boulders rose from the ground. The Onix lifted itself up and slithered its way toward the group. They stepped back, but the Onix easily managed to coil itself around them, constricting their movement and making escape impossible.

"It's him," Brooke said. "He's one of the most powerful ones."

R.J. and Michelle looked up at the enormous Pokémon and quickly realized that it was nearly twice the size of a normal Onix. It held its head high and roared at its helpless human prey.

Suddenly, out of the torch-lit darkness, a huge gray something flew from the cavern's expanse. It swooped down straight into the Onix's head, attempting to throw it off balance. The Onix reacted violently, tossing its head from side to side in an attempt to throw off its attacker.

"Aerodactyl," Brooke said in awe.

Aerodactyl began flapping its wings to create a gust that would cut to the bone, but Onix didn't even flinch. Rather, it just bit down on Aerodactyl's leg and began throwing it from side to side. Aerodactyl opened its gator-like jaws and unleashed a vibrant burst of energy, creating a blindingly white Focus Beam.

The Onix released the winged beast and recoiled from the attack, meanwhile releasing its vise-like grip on the children.

Brooke ran forward to grab her Pokémon.

Suddenly, Onix began thrashing around and hitting its head against everything. It was attempting to cause a rock slide

Sure enough, the rocks began to fall. Cyndaquil and Piplup ran toward Brooke, and R.J. and Michelle tried to do the same thing. Bulbasaur jumped from Brooke's arms and tried to limp to their assistance.

However, the rescue was cut short. Aerodactyl shot another beam of energy at Onix who fell over, caught in its own rock slide. The rocks fell around them and sealed Michelle, R.J., and Bulbasaur on one side of a rock wall.

Trapped with them were Onix and Aerodactyl. Miraculously, their torch was still lit. On the other side were Brooke, Cyndaquil and Piplup, who was pecking ferociously at the rock pile.

"R.J.? Michelle? Are you okay?" Brooke yelled over the rocks.

R.J. came to his feet and looked around. Michelle was leaning unharmed against the wall, but all three Pokémon were badly injured and no longer able to fight.

"Yeah, we're fine," R.J. said. "We're trapped. There's no way out."

"Okay, I'll go and find help," said Brooke. She stuffed her backpack through a small hole in the rock wall and dumped out three of the four remaining torches, leaving one for herself.

With that she was off. The current torch began to burn out, so R.J. used it to light another and looked over at Michelle.

"Three hours," he said. "We have three hours of light."

Michelle looked down at her hands and released a sigh. R.J. sat down next to her.

"Everything will be okay," he said reassuringly.

"I know," Michelle said.

"You trust Brooke, right?"

"Of course."

"Then everything will be okay."

Bulbasaur began to pull itself across the cave floor and limped its way into Michelle's lap. She gently stroked its leaves and held its paws. The Bulbasaur was calm, and so Michelle started to relax.

Meanwhile, Brooke was already a mile up the road with Piplup in her arms and Cyndaquil at her heels. She continued running for about another half mile before she finally came to a small house.

She began pounding her fists on the door until it opened, and then found herself accidentally hitting the old man inside.

"S-sorry, sir!" she said, taking a step back, "But I need help! Please, my friends are trapped in a cave about a mile and a half that way, and I… I couldn't find anyone else to help, so…" She trailed her sentence, looking hopefully at the old man.

The man stared cautiously at Brooke. The look in his eyes showed that he was trying to determine whether she was genuine or just playing a prank.

"A cave, you say?" he finally said after deciding that she was telling the truth. "I can't help you myself, but I know somebody who can. There's a town to the east, but it's almost ten miles away. Hold on just a sec. I think I have something that could help," he said, retreating into his house.

Brooke rocked anxiously on her heels and peeked through the open door. The man had obviously gone to another room, because he was nowhere in sight.

"Ah… Here you go, little missy," came the man's voice from nearby. Brooke looked around to the side of the house where the voice had come from.

The old man was slowly wheeling out an ancient bicycle from his garage. Though the thing looked like it belonged in a museum, it glided smoothly even across the grass.

"Take this," he said, wheeling the bike to Brooke. "Travel due east and you'll arrive in a town called Dunburry. Find the Pokémon Center and ask for a man named Greg. Tell him I sent you; he'll be sure to help."

"Thank you so much," said Brooke, "I'll be back with this."

With that she stuffed Piplup and Cyndaquil in her backpack, leaving it open so that they could breathe, and took off down the road.

Back in the cave, Michelle and R.J. were sitting with their backs propped against the cave wall, patiently awaiting the return of their friend. Only an hour had passed but Michelle was already having a hard time keeping her eyes open. Her bangs were falling in her face and she occasionally brushed them to the side.

R.J. would poke her whenever she threatened to fall asleep, but he was struggling against the cold himself. His backpack was on the outside of the rock wall and, considering it was still intact, contained his jacket and other supplies.

Though he tried to hide it, he really was very cold and couldn't keep himself from shivering.

Seeing this, Michelle reached into her backpack and pulled out a pink zip-up hoodie. She draped it over R.J.'s shoulders and he immediately stopped shivering.

"You didn't have to do that," he said.

"I know," said Michelle, smiling.

"I would've been fine. Besides, aren't you cold?"

"Naww," she said, jokingly punching his shoulder. "You looked like you needed it more than I did."

"…Thanks," he finally answered.

Suddenly his expression changed. He had a curious look on his face, which was odd considering the circumstances.

"Michelle?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"What are auras like?"

"Well, it's kinda like being able to feel the emotions and sensations of others. Why?"

"I can feel your aura."

"What? How?"

"I don't know. It just happened when you punched my shoulder."

"Weird," she said, looking at him curiously.

R.J. glanced around the cavern. He could feel all of the emotions and pain of the creatures around him.

Bulbasaur sat on Michelle's lap feeling relaxed as she stroked her leaves. Michelle was feeling calm, yet curious about the situation.

Aerodactyl and Onix, however, had a strange cocktail of complex emotions. They both deeply hated each other from their many confrontations. There was the pain of being injured from the battle, and a strange, deeper pain from abandonment. It was a powerful loneliness, strong enough to weaken even the most hardened of souls.

Just the vague feeling that R.J. was getting from them was making him feel uneasy.

"Can you feel that?" he asked Michelle.

"Feel what?"

"Them," R.J. responded, indicating the two exhausted Pokémon. "Their auras, I mean."

Michelle looked at him in bewilderment, then removed the necklace that had been hanging around her neck. The pendant at the end of its cord was made of turquoise and glowed strangely in the torchlight.

Michelle gasped after removing it and looked up at the two Pokémon.

"Wow," she said. "You're right."

R.J. pointed to the necklace and asked about it.

"It was given to me by an old friend," she said sadly. She took a deep breath before continuing her story.

"When I was little, I was attacked by a wild Houndoom. It chased me through the woods and all the way to a cliff face, so I really had nowhere to go.

Just when I thought it was going to kill me or something, this wild Lucario showed up out of nowhere. He could feel my fear so he came to my aid. Lucario is an aura Pokémon, by the way.

Anyway, he defended me from the Houndoom, but he wasn't strong enough to defeat it. Houndoom just kept tackling Lucario, and when Lucario couldn't take anymore, the Houndoom bit him - hard! Lucario fell, and in his place there was nothing but a stone of turquoise."

"How did you survive?"

"When Houndoom finished with Lucario, it turned back to me. That's when I first developed my ability. I could feel Houndoom's deranged aura. It hated me because its owner had abandoned it. It was taking out its anger on me.

So I stood up and I comforted it. Even though I was absolutely terrified of it, I became its friend. It just stood there and snarled at me until I walked up and petted its nose. Then it ran off into the woods and left me alone with the turquoise. I made the stone into a necklace and whenever I wear it, my ability fades."

The two sat in silence for a few moments. Michelle clutched her necklace tightly.

"…That's amazing," R.J. finally said.

"Kinda, but not really," said Michelle sadly. "My gift is also a curse. Everyone's emotions stick to me. Every day I have to feel the pain of criminals and victims and innocent people. Just like now, trapped in a cave with these poor Pokémon."

Michelle lifted the necklace and placed it around R.J.'s neck. Immediately the feeling of the auras went away and he could feel only his own emotions.

"If you can feel that," said Michelle, "then you'll need this more than I will."

"No," R.J. said, taking off the necklace. "We're going to fix this."

He stood up and walked over to the injured Aerodactyl. It hissed as he got close so he slowed down his pace. As he got closer, the Aerodactyl hissed and moaned.

R.J. reached out his hand and placed it firmly on Aerodactyl's jaw. The beast relaxed and the pain subsided. Then R.J. turned to the trapped Onix. He stroked Aerodactyl's head and walked over to Onix. He placed his hand on its head and looked into the creature's stone-cold eyes. It relaxed, filling the cave with a feeling of warm emotion. Michelle stared at R.J. in bewilderment.

"How… How did you…?"

"I just did what I felt was right."

Michelle looked down at the necklace in her hand before placing it delicately in her backpack. R.J. looked around. The ability had faded and he could no longer see or feel any auras.

"Hey!" someone shouted from behind the rock wall. "You guys still in there?"

Brooke had returned with the assistance of a one man, one girl rescue party.

"Cover your ears!" Brooke shouted from behind the wall. R.J. and Michelle took her advice.

A few moments later, a supersonic screech blasted through the cave. The rock wall began to break and crumble, and Michelle, R.J., and the trapped Pokémon steered clear of the falling rocks.

On the other side of the wall stood Brooke. Next to her was a tall man with a lantern. His Pokémon, a Crobat, was flapping around the remnants of the rock wall and looking very pleased with himself.

Cyndaquil and Piplup ran to their masters in a happy reunion. R.J. and Michelle greeted them and, in no time at all, Cyndaquil was running around wildly and Piplup was gnawing at Michelle's hair.

Bulbasaur, on the other hand, simply looked up weakly. Brooke ran to help her while Michelle and R.J. went to thank their rescuer.

He was a middle-aged man who appeared to have a lot of experience with Pokémon. His Crobat flapped over and landed on the ground next to him.

"Name's Greg," said the man finally. "I've had this Crobat since I was a little kid. It's not the first time we've dealt with a rock slide, and he's never let me down before."

Brooke walked over carrying Bulbasaur, who was looking very bad.

"What should I do? Our Pokémon medicine got lost in the rock slide" She looked very close to tears, and Bulbasaur tried to look up at her reassuringly.

Greg looked to his Crobat and nodded.

"If you set her down," he said, indicating to Bulbasaur, "I think we can help a little."

Brooke set Bulbasaur down gently. Bulbasaur didn't move.

"Crobat, use Swagger," said Greg.

Crobat began flapping its wings and stirring about. After a few moments Bulbasaur stood up and started to walk a little.

"That should help for a while," said Greg. "It won't heal her, but for now it will help her walk."

"Thank you," said Brooke. She turned back to her friends. "C'mon, guys. We should probably get going."

Bulbasaur started to follow. However, she was walking crooked and eventually walked straight into a wall. Even though she wasn't moving anywhere, she was still kicking her back legs and pressing her head against the wall.

"She might be a little bit confused," said Greg. "Just don't tell her to attack anything."

"A _little bit_ confused?" asked Brooke sarcastically.

"It'll wear off eventually."

"And how long is 'eventually'?" asked R.J.

"Don't know," said Greg. "Sometimes a few hours. Sometimes a few months."

"_MONTHS?_ " Brooke, R.J., and Michelle looked at Greg.

"Don't worry, don't worry," he said. "Worst she can do is that." He pointed to Bulbasaur, who was now balancing on her head and kicking her feet.

While everyone was watching Bulbasaur's strange behavior, a man walked up behind them. Brooke heard him approach and recognized him as the man whom had given her the bicycle.

The old man walked into the cave and took a look at Onix and Aerodactyl. He gasped, and both Pokémon raised their heads. They immediately perked up when they saw him and rushed over affectionately.

Michelle felt their happiness and alerted the others of the warm reunion.

"Wow," said the man. "So this is where you've been!"

The two Pokémon looked at him tearfully, and the man wiped his eyes with a sleeve. Meanwhile, Brooke, R.J., and Michelle watched with great anticipation.

"They know him," Michelle said. "I can feel it."

The man turned to the adventurers and smiled.

"Thank you," the man said. "Thank you so much! You have given me the greatest gift an old man could ever ask for!"

"Um…," Michelle said, "You're welcome. But… What did we do?"

"I've been looking for these two for twenty years now, and you found them. How can I ever repay you?"

The three looked at the man for a moment.

"Money's always nice!" said Brooke finally.

"NO, no no no no," Michelle interrupted, looking horrified. "No payment necessary!"

"Nonsense," chuckled the old man, reaching for his wallet. He pulled out 2000 PokeDollars, which wasn't a lot (only about $20), but for the first time they had a little spending money.

"It's all I have on me right now," the man said, "but you should take it." He shoved it into R.J.'s hands, and all three of them knew it would be pointless to argue.

"Is there anything else I can give you?" asked the man.

Brooke looked down at Bulbasaur who was limping, but was at least able to walk on her own.

"We need to get her to a Pokémon Center," she said.

"Excellent!" the man said. "Aerodactyl can fly you there, but only one at a time."

"All right, thanks!" said Brooke. "Bulbasaur, come."

Bulbasaur came to her feet and started walking in circles. Brooke looked at her Pokémon sadly. She picked Bulbasaur up and placed it gently into her backpack.

"Mind if I say goodbye real quick?" she asked.

"Of course."

Brooke turned to her friends.

"All right," she said, "I'll go straight to the Pokémon center and come right back. By the way," she said, looking at R.J., "Pink looks nice on you."

R.J. stood there for a moment, confused. After a few seconds he realized that he was still wearing Michelle's pink hoodie. He quickly removed it and handed it back to her, then looked awkwardly to the side so no one could see him blush.

"Seeya," said Brooke. She turned to the old man. "I'm ready," she said.

"All right, then. Hold on tight."

Heeding his warning, she clutched Aerodactyl's neck tight.

"Aerodactyl, use Fly!"

Aerodactyl took off at a blinding speed, Brooke still clinging on for dear life, and again R.J. and Michelle were left behind in the cave.

They turned back to the old man, who was stroking Onix's snout.

"I can't help but ask," R.J. said. "Why are you so close to these two Pokémon?"

The man looked at R.J. and smiled sadly.

"My dad caught them before I was even born. I grew up with them, and they helped take care of us. They ran away when my father died, and they've been popping up in news all over the region ever since. They've been constantly fighting one another, and good thing too, because I've been able to track them that way. Soon I can take them back home to Pewter City."

Michelle got a warm smile on her face. She could obviously feel the man's heartfelt emotions. She poked R.J.'s shoulder casually, and in no time he too could feel the affection the man had for his Pokémon.

"Well," said the man, "I'm afraid I must leave you now. When Aerodactyl returns, give this to him."

The man handed them a small stone-like object. It was a simple cylinder, engraved with strange markings.

"It's scented," the man said. "I have an identical one. When Aerodactyl smells this, he'll be able to follow me down the road."

The man pulled out a Pokeball and returned Onix. He nodded to R.J. and Michelle, smiled, and headed off down the road.

Michelle looked around the cave with a quizzical expression.

"What's wrong?" R.J. asked.

"Uh...," Michelle scrunched her eyebrows and continued to look around. "Where the heck is Greg?"

R.J. looked around and, sure enough, Greg had disappeared.

"Huh," he said. "He must've… I dunno. Left? Vanished? Gotten eaten by wild Pokémon?"

Michelle cracked a grin and laughed a bit, and the two stared off into the distance, waiting for their friend to appear on the horizon.

After about an hour, Brooke returned with Aerodactyl and Bulbasaur. As instructed, R.J. gave the cylinder to the Aerodactyl, who immediately started off in the direction of the man.

Bulbasaur was now limp-free, but still acted a bit wonky. The three adventurers and their Pokémon took off down the road in search of a new destination.

Chapter 2

A few days later, the three of them awoke in a crudely set up camp next to a calm lake. Even with a map they were completely lost, so they had traveled the roads, hoping to eventually find a town or city.

That morning, Michelle had woken up earlier than the others and sat down at the lake shore. She often suffered from bouts of insomnia, and enjoyed using the time to reflect.

This time, her thoughts wandered over the events of the past few days. Though she had told Brooke and R.J. about the connection between the old man and his Pokémon, she still hadn't told Brooke about the strange occurrence that had happened when she punched R.J.'s shoulder. She wasn't certain that Brooke believed in her gift, so she had omitted mentioning it.

A subtle noise behind her pulled her away from her thoughts, and she turned to see that Brooke had too stirred from the tent.

"'Morning," said Brooke cheerfully.

"'Morning."

After a few groggy yawns, Brooke sat down beside Michelle. A few awkwardly quiet minutes later, she started fidgeting, bouncing a knee or drumming her fingers. Though this was typical of Brooke, it still made Michelle anxious for whatever reason.

"Could you please stop that?" she snapped, switching to a hillbilly accent to lighten the mood.

"Stop what?" asked Brooke.

"That… fidgeting. Could you please knock it off?"

"Oh," she said. "Sorry."

She stopped, but looked as though she were having trouble. You could vaguely tell that her toes were moving in her shoes.

A few minutes later, she couldn't sit still any longer and again began bouncing a knee or drumming her fingers.

"How about you go and wake up R.J.?" Michelle suggested.

"Sweet!" she said, then jumped up and headed in the direction of the tent.

With Brooke gone, Michelle had a bit more time to reflect. She thought back to being trapped in the cave.

For whatever reason, R.J. had temporarily received her ability to sense auras, and seemed to be struggling with it on and off over the last few days. He would often ask for her turquoise necklace and was becoming more and more reluctant to take it off.

Again Michelle's thoughts were disrupted by the sound of Brooke dragging R.J. out of his side of the tent. He was wearing the necklace as usual. He stretched, walked over to the lake shore, and sat down next to Michelle.

After a few minutes, he, like Brooke, began fidgeting. Michelle quickly stood and walked off.

Upon arrival at the campsite, she quickly noticed some commotion in one of the tents. Three blobs were pushing against the sides and uprooting the tent pegs. Before Michelle could do anything, the tent was knocked over and Piplup, Bulbasaur, and Cyndaquil emerged from the wreckage.

Brooke had been watching and immediately started cracking up, and R.J. walked over and began fixing the tent.

That day the three of them decided to rest at the camp instead of continuing on their journey. Around noon, R.J. and Brooke left camp to go get some firewood. Meanwhile, Michelle headed down the road to scout out the area and look for any sign of civilization.

In their quickness to leave, Brooke, R.J., and Michelle had unwittingly left their Pokémon unattended. Though they were left in a closed tent, it didn't take Piplup long to gnaw off the zipper. All three piled out and began wandering the campsite.

Cyndaquil took up a fascination with keeping the fire going, while Piplup entertained itself by putting it out. Bulbasaur stumbled around knocking stuff over.

Eventually she managed to use Razor Leaf to knock over a tree. It fell across the campsite and extended over the edge of the lake. Bulbasaur curiously climbed on top and walked out to the end of the tree.

Meanwhile, Piplup and Cyndaquil were fighting over an apple that had rolled out of Brooke's backpack. Both of them turned to look at the lake after hearing a loud splash.

Bulbasaur had jumped into the lake and was swimming towards the center. Piplup and Cyndaquil shrieked and ran to the lake shore, calling out and attempting to coax Bulbasaur to come back.

When she didn't respond to their calls, Piplup heroically dove in and swam out to rescue her. Cyndaquil stayed on the lake shore, running around and crying for help.

Piplup quickly made it to where Bulbasaur was and started pulling her back to shore, but Bulbasaur was pushing him away with vines. She kept struggling against Piplup, even though she was gradually sinking into the lake.

Cyndaquil stopped running and watched in horror as Bulbasaur began to pull Piplup under the water. Even in his own domain, Piplup couldn't fight against Bulbasaur by himself.

Cyndaquil ran closer to the water and started anxiously breathing fire. She quickly realized that it wasn't helping anything. She dug her paws into the ground, gritted her teeth, and dove into the lake.

With her pointed feet and rounded body, she found it near impossible to fight the waves. The water felt like it was burning as it rushed across her skin, but through the pain and pressure, Cyndaquil's friendship kept her fighting against the waves.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally made it to where Bulbasaur was drowning.

At that moment, Michelle came walking back up the road and noticed the tree lying across the campsite. She heard splashing out in the lake and turned to look, but had trouble discerning what it was.

She walked closer to see what it was, and soon realized that all three Pokémon were drowning in the center of the lake.

Though she couldn't swim well, she immediately plunged into the lake to save them. As she swam closer, she noticed Piplup and Cyndaquil working together, attempting to pull Bulbasaur back to shore, though Bulbasaur was resisting them with all her might.

When Michelle arrived, she tried to help, but was quickly cut up by Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf. Cyndaquil used a weak Flamethrower to stop Bulbasaur from struggling. Michelle pulled her above the water and, with much difficulty, began swimming back to shore.

Cyndaquil, with the assistance of Piplup, also made it back to shore.

When Brooke and R.J. arrived back at camp, they found Michelle, Bulbasaur, and Cyndaquil soaked. Piplup's feathers naturally repelled water, so he was the only one who was dry.

Both Bulbasaur and Cyndaquil had fainted, and Michelle was gently pressing an aloe leaf over Bulbasaur's burn.

Brooke and R.J. each went to their own Pokémon, trying to figure out what had happened. Brooke noticed Bulbasaur's burn and quickly turned on R.J.

"Look what your stupid Pokémon did!" she said, frustrated.

"What?"

"She burned Bulbasaur! If it wasn't for Michelle, I bet she would be dead!"

"Hey!" R.J. said defensively. "For All I know, it was Bulbasaur who pushed Cyndaquil into the lake!"

"Hey, stop!" Michelle interjected. "If it wasn't for that burn on Bulbasaur, she would still be drowning in the lake! Cyndaquil and Piplup saved her life, and all you can do is argue?"

For a moment, Brooke and R.J. stood there in awkward silence.

"Michelle…" Brooke said with a guilty tone, "I had no idea."

"It was my fault," Michelle said. "I was the last one to leave. I should've remembered the Pokémon."

"No," said Brooke, "It's our fault too."

"Rather than taking blame," R.J. interrupted, "why don't we find the way to the nearest Pokémon Center?"

"Good idea," they both agreed, then Brooke and R.J. began scouring the map to figure out which lake they were at.

After much debate, they eventually decided that they were at a lake which, on the map, looked like an upside-down heart. There was a town approximately thirty miles from their current location. If they left right away, they would arrive at the town by nightfall.

Around 8:00 at night, they arrived at the Pokémon Center. Michelle approached the door first so that she could hold it for the other two. The lady at the desk looked up from her computer and asked, "Can I help you?"

Brooke and R.J. came in carrying their Pokémon. The lady stood and started hastily walking over.

"Oh," she said, "How bad?"

"Well," said R.J., "they've both been in a lake and Bulbasaur has a burn."

She looked over the two Pokémon and paused for a moment at the aloe leaf on Bulbasaur's burn.

"Who thought to use this?" she asked.

"Um… I did," said Michelle quietly. The nurse looked at her thoughtfully.

"Good thinking. Aloe is excellent for burns." Michelle blushed and looked down.

"Anyway," said the nurse, "we'll see what we can do."

Two Blissey in nurses' hats waddled up pushing Pokémon gurneys, and Brooke and R.J. gently set their Pokémon down. The Blissey smiled and wheeled them into the back room, and the nurse followed.

About an hour later, a different (yet nearly identical) nurse came out and informed them that their Pokémon would be okay, but wouldn't wake up until morning.

The Pokémon Center was unusually busy that night, so Brooke, R.J., Michelle, and Piplup camped out just outside the Center.

"Wakey-wakey," a young woman's voice said. Michelle opened her eyes to see yet another identical nurse, as well as a cheerful Bulbasaur and Cyndaquil. She stood up and stretched; sleeping leaned against a brick wall was not very comfortable.

"Brooke, R.J., wake up," she said.

Brooke stirred immediately and laughed as Bulbasaur ran up and pounced into her lap. Cyndaquil climbed up onto R.J. and began licking his face. He jumped and hit the back of his head against the brick wall, then reached out and gave Cyndaquil a big hug.

Around noon they left town and again headed out on the road. However, being exhausted from the previous day's journey, they only walked a few miles before sunset.

The next morning, they arrived at a thick forest with a heavy fog over it. The road led straight through and so they decided to follow it.

In the woods, they ran into a surprising number of wild Pokémon. Prior to this, they had rarely encountered wild Pokémon. Before, they might occasionally see a Mudkip sink below the surface of the water, or a Chikorita hiding in the grass, but here there were Pokémon everywhere.

They found a bunch of lily pads in a pond, which suddenly transformed into Lotad. In a meadow there was a group of Phanpy playing. One was eating some sort of plant that greatly interested Piplup.

Piplup dashed over to investigate and began nibbling at the plant. When the Phanpy noticed, it jumped back as though it were startled. Piplup walked up to greet it, but it just jumped back again and stared at him. Piplup took a few steps closer and the Phanpy high-tailed it in the opposite direction. Piplup pursued it for a few minutes, but then gave up.

That night, they set up camp next to the road on the opposite side of a small creek. It had been raining on and off all day, so they decided to set up the tent.

That night, a spider had somehow found its way into Michelle and Brooke's side of the tent. It silently crept along the ceiling, then descended down on a silky white thread, stopping inches above Michelle's nose.

Moments later, as though sensing its presence, she opened her eyes. It took only a few seconds before she realized that her life was in mortal peril.

She began flailing her arms and squealing as she attempted to evade the tiny creature. As soon as she could, she grabbed a flashlight, frantically reached at the tent's Piplup-mangled zipper, and scrambled out of the tent.

Once she was safely out of the tent, she continued backing up and muttering "Ew, ew, ew…"

She backed up until her head bumped something hanging from a tree. She turned slowly and focused her flashlight on the object.

Hanging there was a Spinarak, a large spider Pokémon. She squeaked and jumped back a step, then shone her flashlight to the left. Hundreds more Spinarak were hanging from the trees.

Then, all at once, they opened their beady eyes and focused them on Michelle.

She screamed bloody murder and ran back to the tent, closing the zipper as best she could. Brooke was staring at her.

"What's going on?" R.J.'s voice called from behind the tent divider. He unzipped the door between the two rooms and popped his head in.

"S-ss-_SPIDERS!_" Michelle stuttered, trying to catch her breath.

"Well, no duh," said Brooke. "We're in a forest. Of course there are spiders."

"NO-NO-NO. SPIDERS! REALLY, REALLY_ BIG SPIDERS!"_

"I'll go see," said R.J., annoyed. He grabbed the flashlight and stepped out of the tent. A second later, he raced back in, wide-eyed and looking alarmed.

"Oh my god. You weren't kidding!" he said

Brooke sat there for a moment, confused, but then decided to simply ignore it.

"Whatever," she said. "I'm going back to sleep."

The next morning, R.J. and Michelle immediately went to check out the tree where they had seen the spiders the night before. R.J. was brandishing a large stick, and Michelle followed close behind him, clutching his shoulder in case she needed to use him as a human shield.

R.J. began poking at the branches with the stick, but nothing happened. Suddenly, a branch fell out of the tree and R.J. and Michelle jumped back.

"Done yet?" asked Brooke mockingly.

R.J. caught his breath. For a moment he felt irritated at Brooke's remark, but chose to ignore it, realizing that it probably seemed really funny.

"Michelle," he said, "those spiders really freaked you out, didn't they?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Your hand."

Michelle realized that her hand was still on R.J.'s shoulder, and knew he could probably feel her aura.

"Sorry," she said, releasing her grip. "Auras, huh?"

"How about the sweat stain on my shoulder?" Michelle looked and, sure enough, there was a dark spot in the shape of her palm on R.J.'s shoulder. "But the auras help," he finished.

As the day progressed, the forest got thicker and thicker. The road began to gently slope upward at a slight incline. The landscape became hillier, and they found themselves walking uphill, downhill, and then back up along the road.

Later in the afternoon, they arrived at the top of a large hill with a clearing. The other side dropped to a cliff where you could see the whole forest, all the way out to a mountain far off in the distance.

However, here the road stopped and nobody knew how to proceed from there.

They decided to set up camp at the top of the hill and determined that they had enough food to stay there for a few days. It was a good campsite, not to mention that there were no trees from which spiders could hang.

That evening, R.J. encountered a Beedrill for the first time, and it was revealed that he was terrified of bees. Michelle occasionally ran into spiders in the nearby woods and would usually walk away stiffly saying "Ew, ew, ew…"

A few days later, Brooke was at camp while R.J. and Michelle went out scouting for the road. Cyndaquil was with them, and Piplup and Bulbasaur were at camp with Brooke.

Bulbasaur's confusion had started to wear off a bit, but she still had regular bouts of strange behavior.

Later in the morning, Michelle and R.J. returned with news.

"Hey, Brooke," R.J. started, "We found the road about a mile from camp. There are signs for a research camp about ten miles away. We can leave tomorrow and set up there."

"That's great!" said Brooke. "So we can stay here today, and leave first thing tomorrow!"

"Yeah, and I bet they'll know how to find the next town."

"Whassup, my fellow adventurers?" said an unknown voice coming from down the hill.

Brooke, R.J., and Michelle turned to see who it was, but none of them recognized him. All three stared in confusion at what looked to be a short white rapper.

The man was wearing a baggy white tee shirt, a thick pair of sunglasses, a backwards baseball cap, and a pair of pants which clearly needed a belt. An oversized gold pendant in the shape of a Pokeball hung from a chain around his neck.

"It's my fellas in yella, with the halla," the man began to chant strangely.

Neither Brooke, R.J., nor Michelle liked rappers or their music, and this guy was no different than the rest.

"No one is in yellow!" said Brooke crossly, but R.J. interrupted her.

"Can we help you?" he asked.

"What, don't you recognize me?" asked the man, certain he had found someone he knew. "Now we can go as a group!"

"Well," Brooke began, "we really don't have enough supplies for-"

"Whoa!" said the man, cutting her off. "It's because I'm black!"

"But you're not bla-" Brooke began to say, but stopped when R.J. looked back angrily, informing her that she had made a bad mistake. He turned to Brooke and Michelle and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Look," R.J. said, "We don't know who this guy is and he's clearly out of his mind. Let's just play along and he'll leave us alone. I've got a plan."

They stayed at their camp for the remainder of the day, all the while listening to the rapper's odd ramblings. When it finally got dark, R.J. offered the man some food and a spare sleeping bag.

After being scolded by Brooke and Michelle for letting the man stay, they all checked in for a good night's sleep.

"Get up," Brooke heard in the darkness a few hours later, _"and be quiet!"_

Brooke began to stir and found R.J. attempting to wake up Michelle.

"Time to leave," he whispered, _"Start packing."_

"What?" asked Brooke groggily.

"We're ditching the rapper," R.J. answered, _"Now come on, start packing."_

"What if we wake him up?" asked Brooke.

"_He won't. I slipped a sleeping pill in his food."_

"_Where did you get a sleeping pill?"_

"_I had it in case of emergencies. I think this qualifies."_

After Brooke and Michelle woke up, they started packing and finished in less than an hour. The only thing left of the campsite was the man and his sleeping bag.

"What about the sleeping bag?" asked Brooke.

"That was an extra. We can get another later on if we need one," R.J. answered. _"Besides, I had Bulbasaur throw in some poison ivy. Should slow the guy down a bit, keep him from following us."_

"Smart!" commented Brooke. _"Well, I guess we'd better get going."_

"One more thing," said R.J., _"His bag was filled with Pokeball's, all of which had Pokémon in them. They all had a red dot, which usually means that the Pokémon are angry. I rigged the Pokeball's to open when the guy moves them. I don't think we'll be seeing him again anytime soon."_

Early the next morning, they arrived at the research camp. The researchers there had been having trouble with some thick foliage keeping them from further exploration, so Cyndaquil and Piplup made a small controlled fire to burn away some of the plants.

The researchers were grateful for the help, so they offered the group some food and a place to stay. R.J. and Michelle praised their Pokémon for a job well done.

While at the camp, they had time to look over their map and figure out where they were going. The researchers were friendly and had a lot of interesting stories to tell and advice to give.

The next day, Brooke, R.J., and Michelle bid farewell to their hosts and continued on their way. They continued to walk through the forest and arrived at the edge the next day.

The forest led to a mountainous area where the soil was too dry for much to grow. They continued through the mountain road and encountered a bunch of Golem walking slowly through the cliffs. They also spotted a Tangela, which scurried off when it saw them.

At one point where the road led back into the forest, R.J. thought he saw a Gardevoir, but by the time he alerted the others, it was gone.

They continued to follow the road until they arrived back at a clearing in the forest. They were told back at the research camp that if they followed the road long enough, they would arrive at a pass that led through the mountains.

The next morning they decided to get an early start. They kept walking up and down the mountain road until they arrived at what appeared to be a ruined temple.

"Cool!" said Brooke, "Let's check it out!"

They walked around the ruins searching for artifacts. Brooke found a pendant with a blue gem in the center, and used some cord from her supplies to make a necklace.

Michelle discovered some strange drawings on a wall of different types of Pokémon. Some of them she recognized, but many of them she had never seen before, such as one that looked like a small fish with multiple fins extending off its sides.

"Hey," R.J. said, "Check this out!" He bent down and picked up a smooth, round, light gray rock, no bigger than a walnut. It was surprisingly light for its size.

"What kind of rock do you think it is?" he asked.

"Here, let me see," said Michelle, extending her hand to take the stone. She set it in her palm and looked at it in the sunlight.

Suddenly, Cyndaquil bashed into her legs, causing her to drop it. Shockingly, the rock split in two when it hit the ground.

Before anyone could pick it up, Piplup ran up and attempted to eat one of the halves, but Cyndaquil took it and swallowed it. Michelle snatched up the other half and asked Brooke if she recognized it.

"That's an everstone," Brooke said confidently, "Well, half of one. If you give it to your Pokémon, it will keep them from evolving."

"Well, Cyndaquil just ate the other half."

Brooke thought about it for a moment, but must have decided it was unimportant, because she never answered.

Michelle looked down at Cyndaquil, who was running around happily. While she was distracted, Piplup, who had been sitting on her shoulder, pounced down and quickly snatched up the other half of the stone, popping it into his mouth and swallowing.

Michelle squealed and scolded him, but he didn't seem to mind.

Late that evening, they arrived at the mountain pass and set up camp not far from the road. Cyndaquil lit a campfire and they sat around eating marshmallows and exchanging stories.

Brooke kept making strange comparisons and unusual connections between unrelated topics. For example, after checking her watch, she said "You know what I just noticed? It's exactly 11:11!"

R.J. kept telling strange stories about events that couldn't possibly be true. He said that once when he was a kid, he saw Kyogre eat his neighbor, even though Kyogre was a legendary water Pokémon that rarely ever appeared.

Michelle kept retelling old stories that everyone had already heard a hundred times.

That evening, the sky was clear, so they decided not to set up the tent and simply sleep beneath the stars instead.

About halfway through the night, Brooke awakened to a strange noise which sounded like blades cutting through the air. She stood up to see what was going on.

The sound continued to get louder and louder, as though it were coming closer. She looked out into the horizon and saw some kind of silver object moving through the night sky.

As it got closer, she identified it as a Skarmory, a steel-type bird Pokémon with razor-sharp wings. She was also able to vaguely make out something riding on its back.

Soon, the sound grew so loud that it woke up R.J., Michelle, and their Pokémon as well.

When the Skarmory was almost to the edge of the cliff road, Brooke identified what was sitting on the Pokémon's back.

The Skarmory landed on the road, and off its back climbed a short, skinny, pale guy with baggy pants, a baseball cap, and a pair of sunglasses. His arms and face were covered with little red bumps that he was scratching as he walked closer.

"Oh, shit!" said Michelle, causing her friends to look at her in shock. "It's that skinny rapper guy!"

"Forget about me?" asked the rapper coldly. "It took me a few days to catch up, but I finally found you."

"And what are you gonna do?" asked R.J. defensively.

"You messed me up," said the rapper, "So now, I'm gonna mess _you_ up."

"Skarmory!" he yelled, "Use Aeroblast!"

Skarmory began flapping its wings, creating a gust of wind so powerful it pushed Brooke, R.J., and Michelle to their knees and prevented them from moving.

"Cyndaquil!" R.J. called over the roar of the wind, "Use Fire Spin!"

Cyndaquil darted out at Skarmory, spiraling through the air in a jet of fire straight into the bird's stomach. Skarmory instantly stumbled backwards from the impact.

"Again!" R.J. yelled, and Cyndaquil heeded, knocking the bird onto its back.

"Skarmory, return!" said the rapper, withdrawing a Pokeball and holding it out to return his injured Pokémon.

"All right! Magnemite, come out!" he yelled, holding out another Pokeball.

Magnemite, a steel-and-electric-type Pokémon, appeared from within the Pokeball.

"Magnemite, use Charge Beam!" called the rapper.

The Magnemite began to spin the magnets on its sides and glow yellow, then released a powerful beam of electricity. Piplup ran in front to keep it from hitting his friends, and the beam hit him directly.

Piplup recoiled from the hit and stumbled backwards into Michelle, who scooped him up gently. Magnemite began charging itself for a second attack, but Cyndaquil tackled it and pushed it out of the way. She then finished it off with a massive Flamethrower.

"Return!" yelled the rapper, withdrawing yet another Pokeball. "Go, Graveler!" he shouted, releasing a large and intimidating rock-type Pokémon. It automatically used Magnitude, which threw Cyndaquil off balance. It then used Rockslide, which injured Cyndaquil so she could no longer help.

Piplup struggled to its feet and tried to use Surf, but it was too weak and fell back into Michelle's lap. She clutched Piplup defensively as Graveler walked up to finish him off, but before it could do any harm, Graveler was hit in the side with a barrage of razor-sharp leaves.

"Bulbasaur!" Brooke yelled, "Use Vine Whip!"

Bulbasaur obeyed, shooting two whip-like vines from the bulb on its back. The vines lashed at the Graveler, knocking it right off its feet. Then Bulbasaur used Razor Leaf to finish it off.

"No!" yelled the rapper, getting increasingly angrier. "Graveler, return! GO, GROWLITHE!"

An orange doglike fire-type Pokémon came out of the Pokeball. It stood its ground and growled savagely.

Bulbasaur ran to her friends and stood defensively in front of them, ready to fight even against a larger, more intimidating Pokémon with a type advantage.

Growlithe opened its mouth and began bombarding Bulbasaur with flames. However, Bulbasaur stood her ground. She then retaliated with a powerful Razor Leaf.

However, the move hardly stunned Growlithe, and it once more shot flames over Bulbasaur, knocking her over. She tried to stand, but Growlithe tackled her, knocking her over onto her side.

"Yes!" yelled the rapper. "Now to teach you fools a lesson! Growlithe, use Fire Spin!"

Growlithe took a few steps back as it prepared to attack the three teenagers. However, next to the cliff, Bulbasaur pulled itself up, using a combination of its stubby legs and the vines coming from within its bulb.

Though it was weak, it held itself upright on its front paws, aiming its bulb at Growlithe, who watched cautiously from the corner of its eye.

The bulb began to open up and glowed faintly in the soft moonlight. Suddenly, a blindingly bright beam shot from the bulb, hitting the shocked Growlithe in the side. It tried to stand as the white light blasted over it, but it lost its balance. Again it struggled to stand, trying to hold its own, but again it fell over, sliding across the ground.

The beam stopped as quickly as it began, and Bulbasaur collapsed, exhausted. Growlithe fainted and was returned to its Pokeball.

"That can't be!" the rapper screamed, stumbling back towards the cliff. "You defeated my… How did you…?" he kept backtracking until his foot hit the edge of the cliff, where he lost his balance and slipped off the edge.

A moment later there was a flash of white light as an injured Skarmory emerged, trying to keep itself aloft. Eventually its wings gave out and it fell to the forest below.

Michelle, Brooke, and R.J., however, were staring in awe at Bulbasaur.

"Did she…" started Brooke.

"…just use…" continued R.J.

"…Solar Beam?" finished Michelle.

The move that Bulbasaur had used was extremely rare for even the most powerful grass-type Pokémon, due to the fact that it was so exhausting. Bulbasaur was, unsurprisingly, lying weakly on its side.

"We need to help her!" R.J. suddenly burst out, recovering from the shock of the moment.

All three of them immediately stood and began running to Bulbasaur's aid. However, they stopped abruptly as a bright light enveloped the Pokémon.

After a few moments it faded, and standing in Bulbasaur's place was a slightly larger green Pokémon with stubby legs, new markings, and a larger, more open bulb.

The new Pokémon looked proud standing there as it looked to Brooke.

"Bulbasaur," Brooke said in awe, "You evolved. Ivysaur."

Standing on either side of Ivysaur were Cyndaquil and Piplup, who had somehow regained their energy when Bulbasaur evolved. Piplup and Cyndaquil ran up into their trainers' arms.

Michelle caught Piplup easily, but Cyndaquil knocked over R.J., leaving him flat on his back with Cyndaquil on his chest. Brooke walked up to Ivysaur in amazement and stood there, not sure how to praise her Pokémon.

"Bulbasaur…" she said.

"Ivysaur," it corrected her.

"Wow. Ivysaur. I can't believe it!"

Ivysaur looked into Brooke's eyes and gave her a smile, letting her know that she didn't need to say anything.

Brooke knelt down and hugged Ivysaur, and for the first time, Ivysaur used her vines to hug Brooke back.

Chapter 3

Being exhausted from the previous night's endeavors; they slept through most of the next day and night. The next morning they set out on the road again. Brooke had a little trouble adjusting to Ivysaur's increased size and weight. Ivysaur still liked to be held, but couldn't be carried. However, she seemed to prefer walking on her own.

The landscape on the other side of the mountain was distinctly different than that of the forest and cliff roads. It looked like an endless barren desert. It went on for miles and miles of sandy hills and the rocky horizon. For the previous few weeks they grew accustomed to the lush vegetation and moist air, but the desert was dead and dry.

They rarely encountered Pokémon, When they did they usually concealed themselves within small dust clouds, and vanished. Michelle saw something off in the distance she as a small tan creature weeping over some bones. She convinced the others to go investigate, but when they arrived they found a strange Pokémon skeleton missing a skull.

The desert because a harsh place for them. However, Piplup constantly showered them with bursts of cool water, which even Cyndaquil seemed to enjoy. In addition to providing them a supply of clean drinking water, the showers gave them a brief respite from the pounding sun. Each night they set up camp early. They didn't need a tent, but set up a fire to protect them from the sudden temperature changes of the desert. At night, the air would drop to temperatures just above freezing, causing them to bundle up tight in their sleeping bags. Each morning they set out a number of hours before sunrise to avoid the high temperatures of the day.

One day Brooke, who was walking up ahead, kept turning back to look at them.

After sensing something strange with her aura, Michelle asked, "Is everything okay, Brooke?"

"Yeah," Brooke answered, "I thought I saw something behind us."

R.J. was walking in back, and suddenly started running to catch up with Michelle.

"Slow down," he said, "There is something following us."

"What do you mean," Michelle asked

"I can feel an aura."

Michelle removed her necklace and handed it to R.J. He placed it around his neck and caught up with Brooke. Michelle slowed her pace and allowed herself to fall behind the others. Just as R.J. had said, she too could feel the aura of something following them.

"Stop," Michelle blurted looking behind her. Everyone looked back, but nothing could be seen except the mountains cresting over the horizon. However, a dust cloud started to form behind them, and started racing in their direction.

"SANDSTORM!" Brooke screamed, and they all attempted to outrun it, however it overcame them before they made it a hundred yards up the road. Suddenly, sand was blowing in their faces and mouths, forcing them to collapse on the road. Brooke struggled to keep her eyes open, as a shadowy figure approached them from down the road. Ultimately, she fell to the sandstorm, and passed out.

When Brooke opened her eyes she found herself in a wonderful paradise. Below her was the soft sensation of well watered grass, and above her head loomed leaves from several palm trees, blowing softly in the breeze. Somewhere need by was the slow churning sound of a pool of water. She sat up, and rubbed her eyes, attempting to discern if any of what was happening was real. She was in a small crater of grass and water. Trees grew all around them, and the foliage appeared as though it had been recently cut. Near the top, sand creased the craters edge.

She was startled when a pair of claws where placed on her back. When she turned to confront her attacker, she found a tan Pokémon, about half her height, offering her a bowl of water. Initially she denied it, but after the Pokémon moved it closer, she changed her mind. The water was the coolest, most crystal clear, she's had in months. She handed it back to the Pokémon, who drank from it himself, than refilled it in the pond.

Brooke took and good look up and down, attempting to identify the Pokémon. He had a soft belly, and hard spiky scales covering it's back.

"Sand shrew," she said in a moment of triumph. The Pokémon lifted its head and nodded, letting Brooke know she was correct.

Lying next to her in the soft grass was Michelle, and on the other side, R.J.. Cyndaquil and Ivysaur were lying in the grass, and Piplup was floating in the pond, all asleep. Brooke was the only one awake.

"You saved us," Brooke said, as Sand shrew lifted its little bowl from the water. "Why?"

Sandshrew walked over to Michelle, holding the bowl of water in his hands. Brooke attempted to wake her quietly, but instead Sandshrew tripped spilling the bowl of water. Michelle jumped up, covered with water, screaming "Spiders!" Her yelling work R.J. too, who stood up, stumbled, and fell into the pool of water. The pond then swelled, and awoke the three remaining Pokémon. Brooke started giggling, now being the only one not soaked from head to toe.

When everyone was awake, Brooke explained to them what had happened. She told them they were in a desert oasis, but still didn't understand why Sandshrew had saved them. Then, in the middle of the small pool, a small blue object popped up from under the water's surface. Sandshrew made a waving motion, and a few moments later a small blue Pokémon on four legs swam over and walked on shore. Mudkip, as Brooke called it, walked over and and rubbed its head against Sandshrew's leg affectionately. Sandshrew stroked Mudkip, picked it up, and walked to the edge of the crater. He then motioned everyone to follow.

Sandshrew led them through the remaining expanse of desert until they arrived at the top of some cliffs bordering the ocean. The entire time Sandshrew held Mudkip in its arms. They followed along the edge of the cliff until they arrived at some patches of stubby grass. As they got further out, the landscape got greener and greener. It gradually transformed back into the thick jungle they recently escaped from. Sandshrew pointed them in the direction of a harbor, showed them a path, and then left them to themselves.

When they arrived at the harbor the place was paradise. There were no large ships, only rafts and sailboats. The soft sea breeze was so cool, and the town bordered right against the jungle which had such beautiful scenery. They spent some of the money they had on medicine, in case they encountered another psycho trainer on the road.

After staying in town for a few days R.J. bought a new map of the region. They discovered they were at Summertown, a simple name for a simple town. They decided to head through the jungle toward a town called Feildveiw. It was located on a plane on the opposite side of a cave.

Walking through the jungle was nice after walking through the desert. They saw some Treecko's playing in the trees, swinging from vine to vine. There were a bunch of Mankey's fighting over territory on a hill. There were a few Oddish's walking around, but they always his themselves the moment three teenagers came walking up the road. They found some Metapod's hanging from the trees. They also saw a Psyduck chasing an apple clumsily downstream.

"Look," Michelle said pointing in between a few trees.

"I don't see anything," Brooke responded.

"There is a Porygon, camouflaged in the trees."

Brooke tried to concentrate, but couldn't make out much more than a large bush. Michelle pulled an apple from the tree, and held it out. A few moments later a pink Pokémon with lots of flat faces appeared from within the trees.

As they got deeper into the jungle the air got thicker and the ground got darker. Walking along the road was a Rhyhorn, a large rhino Pokémon with a stone plated shell. They expected the Pokémon to run, but instead it approached them. It even let them rub its nose.

Late afternoon of the fourth day they arrived at a cliff face leading into a cave. After their last cave endeavor, they were a little apprehensive about entering. But rather than waiting around they entered the cave and hoped for the best.

The cave was lit with large crystals that stuck out all over the walls. Some were natural, but many had been placed by adventurers long before their arrival. But they burned a torch anyway, fearful they might suddenly go out.

As they traveled they saw a number of various Pokémon. A group of Jynx's were playing with some other Pokémon's thoughts. Michelle tried to help the other Pokémon, but then they started messing with her. R.J. and Brooke were looking the other way, but when they realized what was happening, they found Michelle drooling and muttering to herself. They pulled her away, and Cyndaquil gave each Jynx a nasty burn. Michelle started acting weird, but returned to normal after a few minutes.

Piplup angered a group of wild Clefairy. Clefairy used attract, an attack that tricks other Pokémon into feeling as though they are in love. Brooke and Michelle worked to pull Piplup away. R.J. tried to help too, but was somehow affected by Clefairy's attack. He started acting strange. He would randomly give Brooke and Michelle hugs, and would need to be pried off by the other one.

For the remainder of the day R.J. needed to be pulled around to keep him moving, considering he wasn't latched to them in a hug. Brooke said that she had never seen Clefairy use an attack like that on a human, but also said it should wear off eventually.

While walking through the cave they encountered a few wild Jigglypuff singing. The songs were beautiful, and they soon found themselves getting rather drowsy. Jigglypuff gets special powers when it sings to put others asleep, and in no time it worked on the three trainers. They all passed out on the hard cave floor.

When Michelle woke up she found Brooke and R.J. were still snoozing. Even though they fell asleep by force, and on the hard ground, Michelle felt refreshed and full of energy. After not too long, Brooke woke up as well, and they started chatting.

"How long have we been out," Brooke asked.

"Not sure," Michelle answered, "but I actually got some sleep."

"Yeah, No nightmares about spiders," she said sarcastically.

"NO! No nightmares."

"So what about R.J.?"

They glared over at R.J., who was sleeping on his back, with Cyndaquil snoozing on his stomach. R.J. was snoring real loud, but Cyndaquil didn't seem to mind. Piplup and Ivysaur were also asleep. Brooke informed Michelle that it would be no use waking them. The sleep ability would have to wear off on its own. In the mean time they would just have to wait.

"What do we do that?" Michelle asked.

"I guess we wait. Maybe there is something interesting around here.

"Maybe, but we can't leave R.J., he might still be 'in love' with Clefairy.

"Yeah," Brooke said giggling, "how dumb. Seems like guys are so easily wooed."

"Yeah," Michelle agreed shyly.

"I've got an idea," Brooke said pulling her purse out of her backpack.

Half an hour later R.J. work up yawning in the cave. Brooke and Michelle were leaning over Ivysaur with a bottle of nail polish and a small brush. Michelle was holding Ivysaur's front right paw with one hand, and painting on thin lines of shiny liquid with the other. Ivysaur, who was awake herself, didn't seem to mind what the girls were doing. To his right was Cyndaquil, sleeping quietly with red nail polish all over her small claws.

"You gave Cyndaquil a makeover," R.J. said shyly.

"Isn't she cute," Michelle said.

"I guess," R.J. answered, "sure."

"She's not the only one," Brooke said with a grin on her face.

"Piplup?" R.J. asked.

"Nope," they both answered.

"Huh," R.J. said with a confused look on his face, "oh, you two."

"Well yes," Brooke said showing off her nails, "but not us."

"Well, there's Cyndaquil" R.J. said, leaning over to look.

"Getting warmer," Michelle said calmly.

"Who?" R.J. asked grabbing Cyndaquil's paws. "AHHH!" he suddenly yelped, "YOU GAVE ME A MANACURE!"

"That's not all!" Brooke said holding a mirror.

"You gave me a makeover!"

"Had to," Brooke said, "you needed it. Doesn't he look cute Michelle?"

Michelle couldn't control her laughing, though you could tell she was trying to. R.J. ran off looking for some kind of water to wash his face in. He found a small puddle and started using it to wash off. When he finished he looked closely at his reflection in the puddle. The makeup hadn't even run.

"It's waterproof," Brooke said, attempting not to laugh.

"What do I do?"

"You could use some makeup remover," Michelle said, attempting to help R.J.

"You have some?"

"All out," Brooke said pouring a bottle of white liquid down a crack.

"You suck," R.J. said giving Brooke a glare.

"I know," she responded.

At that moment Cyndaquil started to stir. She stretched her paws out in from of her and yawned as she attempted to open her squinty eyes. Then, when she finally came to wake, she jumped strait up into the air and yelped. It then started biting one of her paws trying to get the red shell off her nails. But it was no use, it just made it shinier.

"See," R.J. said," she doesn't think it's funny either."

"Yeah," Brooke said, "But 'she' isn't as funny."

For the remainder of their time in the cave they saw several Pokémon. Only a few gave them more than a moments glance. Most cave Pokémon lived in cramped environments, and therefor found little that startled them. They couldn't tell what time it was, R.J.'s watch had broken in the desert, and so they simply made camp when they got tired. The next morning R.J. stuck a peak at Brooke's mirror. The makeup on his face had come off, but his fingernails still glistened with the red sheen.

They exited from the cave and found themselves on a road winding through a large plane. On their left was a large forest, but not one like the jungle they were in prior to the cave. It was early morning, and none of them were tired. They followed the road to Feildveiw, and arrived just prior to the sun setting over the horizon.

"Hello," an old lady said after exiting her home. "Haven't seen you around before."

Behind her the sun was setting low over the horizon. A lady burst from the house after her and yelled, "What are you doing Grandmother! It's nearly sunset!"

"I was just greeting the new travelers."

"Get inside Grandmother, wait, what travelers?" She paused, now seeing the three teenagers walking into town. "You three," she said pointing to then, "come here, quickly."

"Why," Brooke asked, however she stopped after seeing a bright white light come over the horizon where the sun set.

"NOW!" The woman commanded.

"Come on," R.J. shouted, "let's go."

Moments later a shower of fog and dust came rocketing over the horizon, and swept over everything in its way. It passed the house only moments after R.J. slammed the door behind them. It blanketed everything, and moved much like the sandstorm they encountered in the desert, only much faster. Just outside the house a barrage of light and fog pounded heavily on the window. R.J. jumped back and nearly fell over, however Brooke and Michelle caught him.

"Do you feel that," R.J. asked Michelle.

"No," she answered.

"Feel what?" Brooke asked.

"Your necklace," R.J. finished.

Michelle looked confused at first, but then realized R.J. must be feeling an aura. She then removed her turquoise necklace and in no time she too reacted.

"Oh my god," she said stumbling.

"What," Brooke asked.

"Tell her Michelle, now's as good a time as ever."

"Ok," Michelle said, "Brooke," she hesitated. She paused for a moment. "Here," she finally said putting her hand on Brooke's shoulder.

Brooke gasped and kept stumbling backward until she hit the wall, struggling for breath. "WHAT IS THAT!" she asked. If she was still skeptical about Michelle's gift, she surly wasn't now.

"It's an aura, Michelle said, "An incredibly strong aura. Put this on."

Brooke took the necklace, and calmed down not long after putting it on.

They didn't say anything, but all three of them felt the aura. Even with the necklace Brooke still felt it. A powerful sadness, and strong anger, but it felt strange somehow. Perhaps some kind of strong longing for something, something no one could have.

"Would you three girls like some cookies?" The old lady asked entering the room with a warm, cinnamon scented, trey.

"Actually," R.J. corrected, holding up one finger, "I'm not a girl." He felt kinda angry, but calmed down seeing his hair in his face and the red color of his fingernails.

"Sorry," the old woman said, "my eyes must be failing me."

"Alright girls," her granddaughter said entering the room.

"Actually," her grandmother said, "The tall one's not a girl."

"Really," the woman said. "What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing!" R.J. said defensively, "They did it!" He was pointing to Michelle and Brooke, who were laughing a giggling.

"Ah," the woman said. "You did seem a little flat chested." Brooke and Michelle burst into laughter. "Tried nail polish remover?"

"Don't have any."

"But you have nail polish?"

"We've been walking through jungles and caves, and SHE dumped it."

"Well you won't find any here. People have been afraid to come ever since the aura storms."

"Aura storms?" Michelle asked.

"Yeah," the woman said, "Been happening for the last twelve years now."

"Wow," Michelle said.

"You three will have to stay here for the night. Pokémon too."

"Look," Brooke said pointing out the window.

Outside, the dust was partially gone, and a large slender being was walking down the street. It had large hips, long thin legs, and broad shoulders. It's body was bright, and glowing, and they could hardly see its shape. (PS: Michelle, It's not a vampire) As it walked, it looked from side to side as though it was looking for something.

What is that," Michelle asked?

"Don't know," the lady said. "We call it the white spirit. The creature moves from house to house and preforms miracles. Just by marking the door, it heals the ill, and helps the less fortunate. Mold vanishes, bugs leave, food appears."

"That's incredible!"

"No it's not. Occasionally it comes into people's homes. It looks at someone, and they disappear. Just like that."

"Into thin air?"

"WAIT!" Michelle suddenly screamed running out into the streets. "WHAT ARE YOU!"

The creature released a burst of energy, knocked Michelle onto her back, and vanished.

"What are you thinking," R.J. asked Michelle, following her into the street. "For all we know you could have gotten yourself killed."

"I don't know. It just felt... Familiar... somehow."

The next day they decided to stay in town. The lady who helped them said they could stay at her place for a few days, considering the circumstances. They couldn't continue in the direction they were going because of the aura storms. She had given them a warning. If they were caught outside during the initial explosion, they would be injured. Everyone so far had returned to town the next day weak and weary, with erratic, uncontrollable emotions. The effects were temporary, but they didn't want to take the risk.

That night they checked in early, returning to the woman's house long before sunset.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience." R.J. said. "It's the first time we've taken up space in anyone's home."

"It's no problem. We've had a spare room here for a few years now."

"Spare?" R.J. asked. "That would imply that it was once occupied."

"It was taken... by my father and mother... till they left. I wanted to move long ago, but then..." The woman's voice was cracking and she started to tear up.

"What?" Michelle asked cautiously.

"The spirit... It took them."

Everyone leaned in closely as she told the story.

"It came into the village, just as always, and it was walking around. Then, it came into our house. And it put its hand on their shoulders." She paused for a moment as tears formed in her eyes. It was clear that the memory pained her. Her Grandmother came in with a trey of tea, but paused in the doorway. "The next day... They died."

Michelle dropped her head as the woman burst into tears. R.J. placed his hand gently on her back, but wasn't much use in calming her down. She was clearly upset, and she might have needed this time to weep.

A few moments later the white cloud of smoke and dust burst into the streets. Michelle put on her necklace and was careful not to touch anyone. The three of them gathered at the front window, and watched as the spirit formed in the street. It walked from door to door, just as it had the night before. Then, it walked straight through a woman's door, followed quickly by the sound of her screaming.

"We have to save them!" Michelle screamed suddenly running into the streets.

"NO!" R.J. screamed. But it was too late, she was already running out the door. R.J. followed her closely.

She stopped just short of the door as the spirit returned back through the doorway. For a moment, they stood there locking eyes. Then, just as it did the day before, it vanished in a burst of white light. Michelle fell to her knees, and R.J. tripped chasing her. He looked up at her, and tried to stand, but was suddenly too exhausted. Michelle just stayed there for a moment, balancing on her knees. She passed out.

R.J. slowly lifted his head off a soft pillow. Michelle was sleeping on a bed opposite the room, meanwhile Brooke was spread across the floor. With a little difficulty, he pulled himself up, and walked over to wake Michelle.

"Michelle," he mumbled pushing on her shoulder. "Michelle, wake up."

"You scared the hell out of me!" Someone suddenly burst behind him. Brooke was now up, and had a terrified look on her face. R.J. turned around, and she gave him a big hug.

"What happened," he asked.

"You both passed out on the street. I thought you might be injured. Or worse."

"I'm fine. How's Michelle."

"Same. After you passed out we brought you back in here. It's been almost 2 days. I can hardly believe you're up now."

"Two days?"

Brooke squeezed him tighter, then finally let go. A moment later they heard a grunt behind them, and watched as Michelle opened her eyes. Brooke told Michelle what happened, and even though she hated it, gave her a hug too.

"What were you doing," R.J. asked.

"I don't know," Michelle answered. "What happened again."

"You just ran out into the street."

"I... I remember... I just felt it's aura. I couldn't help."

"Michelle. What did you feel."

She took a long pause before answering the question. "Happy. It felt happy."

For the rest of that day they sat around the house telling stories. Michelle told Brooke about when she was attacked by the wild Houndoom. In exchange Brooke began to tell Michelle a story of her own.

"Once, when I was little," she started shyly, "My brother set out to become the champion. But then one day." She paused for a moment, holding back a tear. "I was walking in the road. A stamped of angry Pokemon came charging up the road. I was paralyzed with fear. The smallest ones came first. They started running around my legs. I panicked and started screaming. Then, my brother started running over. He started running over them, and they started attacking him." Brooke's voice was broken, and shaky now. "He made it to me just in time. Bigger ones started coming, a few were hitting me. One slipped and landed over top of me. A Torus, I believe. It's leg was broken, and it's claws kept digging into my shirt. My brother came over and pulled it off of me. He pushed me out of the road just in time. He wasn't so lucky. An Aggron came charging up the road. That was the last I saw of my Brother." Brooke pulled the collar of her shirt a little, revealing a small red scar just under her shoulder. "He gave her life for me." Brooke started crying.

"That's horrible." R.J. said. He put his hand on her back, and gave her a hug.

"That's why I want to be a trainer, so I can fulfill my bothers dream. Do you have any stories?" Brooke asked shyly.

"Umm... Once I had a Treecko."

"What happened."

"It died," he said calmly.

"That's it?"

"Sorry my story's not as exciting as yours."

"Yeah. Wait a sec. Where's Michelle?"

At that moment they suddenly heard the sound of a door closing. Before they realized what had happened Michelle was standing in the center of the road, with the sun setting in front of her. Brooke and R.J. both started calling through the door.

"MICHELLE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

She stood there not saying anything.

"MICHELLE!"

R.J. and Brooke started walking to her, and attempted to pull her back into the house, but she wouldn't budge. Brooke suddenly observed a shadow rising over her body. She looked over the horizon, and the sun was dropping over the mountains, and then came the flash.

In a matter of moments dust encased everything, and clogged the air around them. It filled their lungs, and sucked their breath. Brooke and R.J. fell to the ground in the dust storm, but somehow Michelle managed to stay standing. Suddenly Brooke got a random flash of an image in her head, but couldn't make out what it was. The dust grew thicker around them, and she struggled to cough it up out of her lungs. It got so dense, she could no longer see R.J. on Michelle's other side.

Michelle stood there looking out over the horizon, aimlessly. Perhaps the effects of the storm had already taken her, or perhaps she had simply lost herself after passing out. As the dust grew thicker, Brooke closed her eyes. Not knowing what else to do, she gripped Michelle's arm tightly.

Suddenly she felt the aura of something. In her head again popped the image of a blue figure, but she couldn't make out what it was. She opened her eyes, and found the dust had receded a little, revealing the glowing silhouette of the white spirit. It stood on the other side of the road looking unkindly upon them. Michelle started to take a step forward, but what stopped by the grip of Brooke's hand.

"Don't do is," she pleaded with Michelle. "Don't do it."

Michelle started to pull at Brooke's arm, but Brooke wouldn't let go. Finally she reacted violently, hitting Brooke's arm, and pulling her own free. She started to walk toward the creature, and Brooke attempted to follow. She pulled to her knees, and the creature pushed her unkindly into the dirt. She was hardly able to keep her face from plunging into the dusty ground. Her head was forced down in between her shoulders, as she struggled for breath.

In the reflection of her glasses, she could make out the creature walking towards Michelle. She wasn't sure what to make of it, but felt she needed to help her friend. She lifted her head a little to see. The emotions of both the Pokémon, and now Michelle were extremely powerful. They felt as though they tore at Brooke on the inside. Her stomach was splitting down the side, and her arms ached incredibly from holding up her body. The pain rocketed through the inside of her chest, but she remained resilient.

Michelle removed her necklace, and the image popped up in Brooke's head again. She could finally make out what it was. Michelle placed the necklace around the creatures neck, and it gave her a large hug.

"Lucario?" Brooke asked in confusion.

Michelle gave the creature a large hug herself, and a silver tear ran down Lucario's face, and on to Michelle's shoulder. A moment later, Lucario vanished, and Michelle was left on her knees in the dust. Brooke no longer felt the massive force of something pushing on her back, and stood up to help her friend. Michelle was sitting in the dust, looking at a silver pebble laying on the ground. She clutched it gently within her hand. She looked up a Brooke, and a tear ran down her face.

"He's gone." Michelle said attempting to hold back her sadness.

Brooke dropped to her knees next to Michelle, and placed her hand on Michelle's back. Michelle started to cry now. "He's gone," She said again in a scraggly voice. The dust had cleared from the town. Nothing was left but the small silver tear in Michelle's hand.

She clutched it tightly.

Chapter 4

After that encounter, they decided to move in the direction of the flash. Michelle had been acting distraught. The encounter must have brought back a number of repressed memories of the encounter she had years ago with Houndoom, plus she kept the tear with her at all times. She had become more shy, and when she did speak, her voice was softer. Her posture was a little more slouched, and she tipped much more often than normal.

Michelle's ability to sense Auras had grown more intense, but in a way more manageable. She was now able to tune out others emotions, and occasionally not feel them at all. However, Brooke and R.J. were not so lucky. The ability became easier to transfer, and didn't even require she touch them. Sometimes even being in the same area allowed her ability to rub off. In addition, Michelle had no necklace to give them, and the tear had no effect.

As usual, they walked along the road during the day, and set up camp during night. There were few Pokémon on the plains, mainly for fear of predators. A Pokémon on the plains was easy prey, unless it could outrun another that wanted it dead. They did see a few Doduo's, and a Dugtrio.

Around noon the next day they arrived into a cluster of hills. Soon after trees started to pop up from place to place. Late in the day they decided to set up camp not far from a lake. That night they set up a camp fire and roasted marshmallows. None of them said much, so R.J. sat around looking at the others. The red nail polish still stained all their fingernails. Brooke, being Brooke, loved her nail polish, and often admired her own fingernails. Ivysaur, and now Cyndaquil both took an affection toward it, and often pestered the girls into redoing them. Piplup was still mark free, and R.J. envied him for that.

Late that night, R.J. woke up feeling restless. He attempted to fall back asleep, but found himself tossing and turning for hours. After a while he simply decided to get up and explore the moon lit landscape. Eventually he stopped looking around and sat staring at the stars. There were hundreds of stars. In comparison there were only a handful you could see in the city.

A few moments later, Michelle climbed up out of her sleeping bag a stood there dazed.

"Michelle," R.J. called, but she didn't respond. "Michelle," he called again.

She stood there looking off into a group of trees off to the far side of the campsite. After a few moments, R.J. stood up to see what was going around. He stood in front of her, but she kept readjusting her gaze to see beyond him.

"What is it," he asked, "Is there something behind me?"

Michelle didn't respond. He shook her shoulder slightly, and she suddenly pushed him aside, and started walking towards the tree line. R.J. sighed and started to follow her. When he caught up, he waved his hand in her face, but she just pushed it aside.

"Michelle!" he called, getting slightly angry. But she still didn't respond. "MICHELLE!" he called louder, but it didn't even faze her. She was simply walking slowly through the trees, with mechanic motions. It was almost as though she was being controlled by a remote.

'Duh,' R.J. thought to himself, 'she's just sleepwalking. I just have to wake her up.'

Attempting to startle her (and not very quick on his feet) he simply pushed her over. Falling is one of the best ways to wake up, because it always works. She shrieked and fell to the dirt, and so R.J. extend his hand to help her up. But nothing happened.

For a long time Michelle didn't move. She was laying on the ground with her arms extended in front of her, and spread on the ground.

"Michelle?" R.J asked again. All of a sudden she stood up flailing her arms, and then holding her head. She walked off at a faster pace, until she disappeared over a small hill. "Uh," R.J. sighed, "Look, I'm sorry. I couldn't think of a better way to wake you up."

R.J. crested the small hill, and found Michelle standing not far from the lake. She was standing in the same stiff posture, starring at the lake. When he moved closer, R.J. started to realize she wasn't sleeping. She was staring at a pink blob, sitting on the sandy lake shore.

Michelle took a small step forward, and so R.J. grabbed her arm. This time she reacted violently, shrieking, and hitting R.J. in the chest with her fist. He lost his grip, and so he clutched her arm harder. Michelle screamed and started flailing her arms around wildly.

Suddenly, R.J was overcome with the strangest sensation her ever felt. Radiating from the pink creature at the lake shore, was the most powerful assortment of feelings anyone could imagine. For a moment R.J. was mesmerized with the creatures aura. It felt as though it was seeping into his soul. He needed to touch it. But shortly after the feeling wore off, and the danger of this situation became all too real.

"MICHELLE! MICHELLE! STOP!" but she wasn't listening. Michelle was still moving closer and closer to the creature. R.J. tackled her to the dirt, and started holding her arms down, so she couldn't get up. Michelle kept attempting to throw him off, but he managed to put everything he could into it. But then the aura of the Pokémon faded back into his thoughts, now stronger than ever. He tried to hold Michelle down, but the harder he pushed, the stronger the aura got. Every fiber of his being craved for nothing more than a brief moment of contact with the creature.

He dug his feet into the ground, and pulled himself to his feet with a stumble. Michelle suddenly nailed him in the back and pushed him to the ground. Her feet then tore into his back as she used him as a spring board to reach the Pokémon first.

The ability than faded, and so R.J. desperately grabbed Michelle's ankles, pulling her to the ground. She was now only inches away from the pink Pokémon, and attempted to pull herself along the ground to it. R.J. attempted to fight the aura with all his might, but it pulled at every fiber of his being. He wanted nothing more than to beat Michelle to the pink blob. In a moment of desperation he tried to crawl over her.

Suddenly a jolt of energy penetrated his body, as Michelle's hand touched the Pokémon's small pink foot. It rocked him so hard he instantly fell to the side, and pulled himself back. The pink Pokémon had awoken, and screamed as though the very fabric of reality would rip. R.J. covered his ears, but could still hear the noise. Michelle was laying were she was, passed out. The Pokémon looked to R.J., and revealed the most beautiful sapphire blue eyes he had ever seen. In them was the deepest cocktail of emotional distress imaginable.

It screamed again, and shook the ground violently. A yellow Pokémon, with its eyes tightly closed appeared from the air, and floated next to the pink one. They were nearly identical. It looked to the pink one who pointed to R.J. It then turned its head to him and gazed at him with its bound eyes.

In an instant, it's eyes opened. R.J.'s vision was enveloped with a bright white light, and his ears filled with a painful roaring. He could feel the very foundation of his soul being ripped and torn by the Pokémon's devastating gaze. He passed out.

The next morning Brooke was sleeping at camp, while Michelle and R.J. were still passed out on the shore of the lake. When she woke up, she started roving around the campsite taking care of daily tasks. In fact, she hadn't even noticed Michelle and R.J. were missing. She was too distracted with preparing breakfast for herself and the Pokémon.

Piplup decided to climb on Brooke's lap and beg for food. It was beating it's stubby wings and opening it's little bird beak in Brooke's face. So Brooke pulled out a can of Pokefood and started feeding it.

"Doesn't Michelle normally feed you?" she asked Piplup. "Then you come to me so I can spoil you." Piplup didn't respond. Suddenly he started chirping and running around wildly. A few moments late Cyndaquil and Ivysaur came over the small hill at the far end of camp. Cyndaquil was running around frantically, and Ivysaur looked very serious. Cyndaquil ran over to R.J. sleeping bag and started jumping on him. Brooke than looked over and realized what was wrong.

"R.J." Brooke yelled. "MICHELLE! R.J.'s MISSING!" She then went to wake Michelle and discovered that she was missing too. "R.J! MICHELLE!" She started yelling getting worried. "R.J! MICHELLE! IT'S NOT FUNNY! WHERE ARE YOU!" She started frantically running around the campsite and searching for them. Eventually she found a set of footprints leading to the lake. For a moment she was startled by an impression of Michelle's face in the mud, but decided it must mean she's going in the right direction. Then she arrived at R.J. and Michelle sleeping at the edge of the lake.

"R.J! MICHELLE!"

She ran up to R.J. and started shaking him furiously. "R.J. Wake up!"

"What?" R.J. asked sleepily rubbing his eyes.

"Wake up. What happened?"

"Well," he said groggily. "Well... I can't remember."

"Michelle," Brooke asked shaking her awake. "What's going on."

Michelle got a curious look on her face, but then answered "I can't remember. How did we get here?"

"R.J." Brooke called again. But he didn't answer. "R.J!" she called again, grabbing his shoulder.

"What?" he asked.

"Where are we?"

R.J. started looking around, as though he was fascinated. "I don't know," he said, "But it sure is pretty."

"Do you have the map?" Michelle asked.

R.J. was staring at the glossy red nail polish on his hands. He then looked up at Michelle and said, "You girls are pretty."

"Are you feeling ok?" Michelle asked.

"I feel fine," R.J. answered. "What's your guys names?"

"Our names," Michelle asked confused.

"Yeah," R.J. said. "Let's see... she called you Michelle," R.J. said pointing from Brooke to Michelle. "And your..?"

"You mean Brooke."

"Brooke huh? That's a nice name."

"Do you remember anything?" Brooke asked.

"Lemmie think," R.J. answered. A few moments later he started staring at his fingernails again. Then he asked, "Am I a pretty girl?"

"WHAT!" Michelle and Brooke both burst.

"Well you too are so pretty. Am I?"

They both blushed and giggled. Then Michelle said, "You don't remember anything. Do you?"

"What's my name." R.J. asked. "I bet it's cute, right?"

"Very," Brooke told him.

"Where'd you get this nail polish? It's just like the cutest." R.J. said.

"She' must think 'she's' a girl," Michelle muttered to Brooke.

"I know," Brooke said trying not to giggle. "Katie," Brooke said to R.J. "Your name is Katie."

"Wow," R.J. said, "that is a cute name."

"Whoa," Michelle asked Brooke. "Aren't you gonna tell him?"

"Na," Brooke said, "Let's let him figure it out. If there's a problem we can tell him later. Wait a sec." Brooke started frantically running to camp.

"Brooke," Michelle yelled, "what are you doing. R.J!" she called.

R.J. didn't respond, he was busy staring at his fingernails.

"R.J... Katie!"

R.J.'s head popped up, and he looked at Michelle.

"Come on."

R.J. and Michelle started running in the direction of Brooke. When they got back to camp they found Brooke leaned over a map yelling, "NO NO NO NO!"

"What's wrong," Michelle asked her.

"Look," she said pointing to a lake on the map.

"What about it?"

"We're at lake Verity."

"So," Michelle asked.

"That's were Mesprit sleeps!"

"Mesprit?"

"Mesprit's the Emotion Pokémon" Brooke said with a worried tone.

"OH," R.J. suddenly interjected, "You mean the cute little pink one with those ginormous blue eyes?"

"Yeah," Brooke said, "How did you know."

"I saw it." R.J. said. "Last night. And it had all these pretty colors coming off of it. She got to touch it though. He said pointing to Michelle."

"WHAT!" Brooke yelled. "NO, That means... Three days from now..."

"WHAT?" Michelle said getting all flustered.

"You're going to lose your emotions."

Michelle got the saddest look in her eyes. "Lost my emotions, what do you mean?"

"It's a defense of Mesprit. Three days from now, we might even not know you anymore. I mean, you could be like some kind of logic spitting robot, or some kind of vegetable."

Michelle dropped her head in sadness.

"Think really hard," Brooke said to R.J. "What happened?"

"Well," R.J. said, "She started walking toward the lake. Than we saw the cute little pink Pokémon. And then she touched it. I was trying to stop her for some reason, and it hurt my arm when she grabbed it. Like I was over..."

"Keep going R.J., What happened next?"

"Oh, Well than, this yellow think showed up. I can't remember after that."

"I knew it." Brooke said suddenly. "R.J. must have angered one of them. So it wiped his memory."

"What do we do," Michelle asked.

"Let's ask it," R.J. suddenly said. "I bet it knows."

"NO!" Michelle said, "That can't... wait... maybe."

"Let's do it." Brooke burst. "It's not like much worse can happen."

Brooke and Michelle spent most of the day waiting by the lake shore for Mesprit. They "introduced" themselves to R.J., and the Pokémon. They also told R.J. a little about himself, though they chose to omit the fact that he's not a girl. He was acting really kind, and giving them lots of compliments. He kept telling Brooke she had nice hair and eyes. He also said Michelle had nice hair. Every time he made a comment like that they started giggling.

"Michelle" Brooke suddenly shouted suppressing a laugh. "Look. 'Katie' repainted her fingernails pink."

"OH MY GOD! NO WAY."

"Did Cyndaquil's too," R.J. said. "She looks so cute. Wait, forgot something." R.J. ran back to camp, and returned a few minutes later wearing Michelle's pink hoddie.

"Hey! That's mine."

"It is..." R.J. said. "I didn't mean to take it."

He got this really upset look on his face, and Michelle couldn't help but say he could wear it. "Besides, it looks cute on you." She said giggling.

They waited the rest of the day for Mesprit. Just after sunset, the little pink blob floated down from the sky, and landed on the shore of the lake. They all backed off and gave it room, and when it appeared to have settled down, Michelle approached it to speak. The aura almost got the best of her a second time, but now that she was more awake, she managed to control herself.

"Mesprit, I want to apologize for what happened last night. I can't remember any of it, but if it upset you, than it's only right that I apologize."

Mesprit stood there for a moment, then it winked with one of its beautiful blue eyes.

"I came here tonight, asking if you would help my friend. Even if it means not helping me."

Mesprit floated toward Michelle, until it was a few inches in front of her face. At that point, glowing pink lines formed out of dust in the air, until they surrounded Michelle and Mesprit. Inside a map formed between Michelle and Mesprit, resembling the one Brooke had earlier. Mesprit pointed to a small blue spot, Michelle recognized as Lake Verity. Then, another spot lit up on the map far to the north of their position.

A moment later the map disappeared. Now floating in front of Michelle was a glowing pink orb, no large than a peanut. It descended down between Mesprit's hands and floated there for a minute. Mesprit held the orb up in front of Michelle's face. The orb got brighter and brighter, until everything was lit a bright pink cloud. Then, Mesprit blew into the orb, and it exploded into a thousand little pieces of bright pink dust. When the light faded so everyone could see again, Michelle was standing in a cloud of pink and Mesprit had vanished.

Michelle looked up at her friends as the dust started to disappear around her.

"What was that?" Brooke asked Michelle quietly.

"My emotions." Michelle answered.

They went back to camp and attempted to find the map Brooke had. After a long time they discovered it had been torn apart, and part of it was singed. Presumably Piplup and Cyndaquil had managed to get their hands on it.

"We'll just have R.J. draw one," Brooke suggested. But when she tried to get R.J.'s attention, she realized he was repainting Ivysaur's fingernails. _He won't remember anything,_ Brooke thought to herself.

"I'll try," Michelle said, etching it into the sand with a stick. "We're here," she said pointing to a small lake on the map. The lake was really well drawn. She even etched a doddle of Mesprit above it. However the map was really inaccurate, and needed some work. "Mesprit pointed out a spot way up here," she than said dragging the stick to the top of the map. "I think there is a road we can follow this way. There can't be a town to far from here. Then we can buy a new map."

The next day they set out, and traveled until they arrived at a town called Sangem. It was a quaint little town, with lots of trees and foliage. As usual they stocked up on supplies using whatever money they had on them. Then they left town to the north, and prepared to move toward Lake Acuity.

"Where is Lake Acuity?" Brooke asked.

"R.J?" Michelle said asking for the map. R.J. didn't answer. When she looked back, she realized why, when he was wearing her hoodie. "Katie?"

"Huh," R.J. (Katie) answered.

"The map?"

"What map?"

"Don't you have it? Where's the map," Michelle than asked directed at Brooke.

"Doesn't..." Than Brooke realized that R.J. usually buys the map. "Let's head back to town than."

"Katie," Michelle than informed R.J. "You we're supposed to get a map."

"I was?"

"Yeah, you always get the map."

"Oh."

So they traveled back to town, and purchased a map. Lake Acuity was over 100 miles away, and at their usual pace, it would take them about two weeks to get there. Brooke than informed them the a Pokémon lake Acuity was believed to grant people gifts of wisdom and insight. Perhaps Mesprit knew something about the lake that they didn't.

That night, as usual, they set up camp not far from the road, and started a fire. The climate was gradually getting colder as they trekked north. R.J. wore Michelle's hoddie nearly all the time now, and Michelle word a pink coat that she carried with her.

"What I was like, "R.J. asked,"I mean, before this."

"Well," Brooke started, not sure how to respond. She had lied to R.J. about his gender, and was unsure how to modify his life to that. "You were always energetic and upbeat. You loved Pokémon. You always liked to play dress up. And once you said you had a Trecko."

"What happened to it?" R.J. asked her.

"It died."

"Well who tells a story like that?"

"You did. That's how you told me the story the first time."

"Well that's stupid. How did it die? I bet it was sad."

"I don't know, you never told us."

"Oh." After that there was a long silence. Everybody didn't really know what to say. Eventually R.J. broke the silence by saying, "You hoodies comfortable, Michelle."

Michelle giggled, remembering how quickly he tore it off when they escaped from the cave.

The next day they left early to get a head start. That day they saw Pokémon along the road. There was a Pikachu, some Plusles and Minuns, an Electrode rolling in the grass, and a Scizor dashing around madly, and knocking stuff over.

Around noon they found a ferry station. After serving the map, they discovered it was able to take them within 10 miles of Lake Acuity. They walked up to the toll man to check the fare.

"Well hello ladies."

R.J. was about to go make a deal with the man, but Brooke stopped him, saving him the embarrassment of the man knowing his gender. His hair nearly covered his face, and it was easy to convince the man they were "three despite ladies in need of room and company." However, as soon as they got the room, they locked the door, and closed all the windows and blinds, keeping the man out.

For the next two days, they remained locked in their room, avoiding any possible contact with the toll operator. When the ship reached shore, they all piled out, and ran out far from the road.

R.J.'s girly behavior was started to get on Brooke's nerves. He was always trying to talk about stuff she normally liked, but it felt awkward coming from R.J. That night he put pink nail polish on his toes, and Brooke started feeling guilty, knowing he would be really upset when he was back to normal. Than the thought occurred to her that he may not go back to normal. She gave him a big hug for no reason, and then ran off before he could ask.

They arrived at Lake Acuity late the next day. They weren't sure what to expect, so they approached the lake cautiously. Then a small yellow Pokémon appeared off to their side. It's eyes were squinted shut, and R.J. grabbed on to Brooke as though it bothered him. It floated down in front of them, and Michelle took the first step toward the Pokémon. The Pokémon floated there, just as Mesprit did.

"Hello," Michelle stared, and the Pokémon looked over in her direction with its eyes shut. "I was wondering, if you could help us. We seem to be lost."

Suddenly the lake bust up around them, and the dirt burst behind them. R.J. and Brooke attempted to flee, but a wall of fire scorched the road behind them. R.J., in particularly seemed really agitated by the flames, and clutched Brooke's arm tightly. Brooke than realized that the yellow Pokémon, was the same one that took his memory before. Brooke turned around, and saw Michelle standing her ground against the Pokémon.

"I came here to get my friend help."

The flames grew higher, and the Pokémon moved closer to Michelle, as thought it was trying to intimidate her. It's eyes got tighter, and wrinkles formed on its brows and eyelids.

A band of flames formed in front of its face, coming together to form letter, and words.

"WHY SHOULD I HELP YOU!" Was clearly inscribed in the air in front of the Pokémon.

"Mesprit sent me! She said you can help."

The Pokémon moved higher over her head, attempting to scare Michelle away. Then it suddenly flew over to R.J. He circled around Brooke attempting keep her between them. The Pokémon circled itself around Brooke several times, making R.J. gasp and panic. Eventually it simply flew over her head, and confronted R.J. up close. He fell back and started crawling around on the ground. It them opened its eyes, try again to wipe his mind. R.J. moved his arms in front of his face to shield himself, but soon the roaring started filling his ears.

"STOP!" Michelle suddenly screamed, and bashed the Pokémon in the side. It flew off, and fell into the sand. It's eyes were now shut. R.J. was still awake, meaning his memory was still intact. The Pokémon got really angry now. And burst up in front of Michelle's face. It opened its eyes again.

"DON'T LOOK!" R.J. screamed, as he tackled Michelle out of the way. The roaring noise filled both their ears now, and R.J. started screaming "STOP, STOP!"

The Pokémon got angrier and moved closer to them. Both of them had buried their faces in the ground to shield them.

"STOP!" R.J. plead with the Pokémon. "I DIDN'T MEAN IT! PLEASE, I DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE YOU ANGRY."

The roaring noise stopped, and R.J. started to calm down a little. "I'm sorry," he then said to the Pokémon.

It calmed down greatly now, and even settled closer to the ground.

"I just wanted to help her." R.J. then said, trying to keep his face hidden.

A little girl sits on the side of a pond on a cold night. Suddenly another little girl comes walking up to the first one. The sitting girl informs the other that she can't pass, but she ignores him. Instead she begins walking into the lake.

The sitting girl stands up, and turns around. Her hair thinly covers her face, and hides all her features. The other girl has long hair down her back, and is wearing a pink hoodie.

As the long haired girl walks into the lake, her cloths get soaked. The water begins to creep up her hoodie, but she continues to walk in the lake anyway. The short haired runs into the lake after her, and tries to pull her back, but she continues to walk anyway.

Both girls are over their head, it is too late.

"I tired," R.J. yells covering his face in the said, "But it wasn't good enough. It's my fault don't punish her. Please, don't."

The yellow Pokémon was now standing on the ground, and directed its hands toward them. They both than floated to their feet, and were oriented to face the Pokémon.

"What's your name?" R.J. asked the Pokémon.

"UXIE" The Pokémon respond.

"I'm sorry Uxie. I didn't mean to hurt you."

The Pokémon than turned to Michelle.

"I'm sorry too." She told Uxie sincerely.

The Pokémon floated up to Michelle, and pressed it's hand against her forehead. The Pokémon started to glow white, and continued getting brighter and brighter. Finally it burst into a cloud of dust and vanished, just as Mesprit had done at Lake Verity.

"I know what to do," Michelle than said turning to her friends.

Michelle sprinted back to camp and started frantically looking for the map.

"What's going on?" Brooke asked Michelle, in a panic.

"Well," Michelle started, "long ago a group of Pokémon created the world. Uxie, Mesprit, and a third Pokémon called Azelf we're created as part of this group. They were all born from the same egg, and are responsible for the creation of humans. Uxie granted humans with knowledge, and Mesprit granted humans emotion. However, Uxie and Mesprit were prone to arguments, which would turn into violent fights. The third Pokémon, Azelf kept balance between the two, and therefore, kept balance among these forces in humans too."

"Ok, so what do we do?"

"In order to help R.J., we need to bring all three Pokémon together at the same time."

"Ok. So than just have to go on another death defying, drastic journey, with little to no chance of success. And along the way we will encounter many fates worse than death."

"Exactly."

"Alright," Brooke said, "let's do it."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," R.J. (Katie) suddenly burst, "What's this about death?"

"Where can we find Azelf?" Brooke asked Michelle.

"When did we almost die." R.J. commented again

"At Lake Valor. Another hundred miles to the south east."

"I almost died? When? What kind of people are you?"

"Let's go." Brooke said as they started to pack camp.

"And what about these 'fates worse than death?' How many are there?"

"Katie," Brooke said to R.J. "Shut up."

For the next two weeks they traveled in much the same way as they had before. They stopped to set up camp only when they felt entirely exhausted. R.J. got even girlier and girlier each day. Brooke was now seriously concerned. She thought that he would at least have some idea he wasn't one. He was taller than either of them, and had a much deeper voice. His facial features were sharper than either of theirs, and his shirts fit different. But he seemed oblivious to all these changes. Brooke started getting strong feelings of guilt, but she couldn't bring herself to tell the truth. Michelle was also bothered, but seemed more concerned with fixing his memory, than worrying about what he thought in the meantime.

"Katie," Brooke said one day on the road. "There is something I need to tell you."

"Yeah," R.J. asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Well... About you."

"Yeah," R.J. asked her again. "What about me."

Brooke started running through all the possible reactions R.J. could have to the news. Each one getting worse and worse in her mind. Finally she just said it.

"You're not a girl?"

Suddenly R.J.'s head swelled up like a balloon. A ringing started emanating from his head as smoke came from his ears. Finally it just burst into a bunch of confetti and goo.

"WHAT?" R.J.'s voice started calling in the empty wind. "WHAT?"

Suddenly Brooke snapped back to reality, and realized R.J. was still standing there waiting for the news. She hadn't said anything, and appeared to be agitated by the long silence.

"I miss you," she eventually said in a soft voice.

"I don't know what to say," R.J. said back to Brooke. She than got a depressed look on her face, and walk further away from R.J., and closer to Michelle.

"It's ok," Michelle said to Brooke. "We'll get him back."

"I know," Brooke said sadly.

After a week and a half of walking, they finally arrived at the shores of Lake Valor. They set up camp, and waited for the sun to set, and for Azelf to arrive. Around 10 o'clock that night a blue spot started to float down to the lake.

Azelf looked much like the other two Pokémon. It was small, and blue, and had large circular pink eyes. However, when it spotted them, its eyes dropped to small angry triangles.

The Pokémon landed on the lake shore, and made an angry whir noise. It them motioned for them to leave.

"We've come to see if you will help our friend," Michelle said making the first move toward the Pokémon. "He's lost his memory."

It floated up in the air above their heads, and pulled two large clumps of dirt into the air. The wind than picked up, and it prepared to launch the clumps at Michelle. But suddenly the Pokémon was enveloped in a pink light, and vanished. A small pink ball fell to the ground from where Azelf was, and started rolling around wildly. It was hopping and jumping from place to place, but eventually stopped at the lake shore.

"YES!" a voice suddenly screamed, as a large silver Pokémon with razor wings settled on the lake shore.

"THE RAPPER!" Brooke screamed watching as he dismounted from Skarmory. He picked up the purple Pokeball he used to trap Azelf, and started tossing it up and down in his hands.

"Miss me," he asked them tauntingly. "Hey, where'd you pick up the third chick. She's awfully tall."

"None of your business!" Brooke shouted angrily.

The rapper approached Brooke. When he got close enough, he started blowing his smelly breath in her face. It wreaked of a concoction of onions, and sweat. "Who do you think I am?" he asked coldly. Cyndaquil than tackled the man in the stomach, causing him to back up many feet.

"GO MAGNETON!" he screamed throwing a Pokeball at the ground in front of him.

The Pokémon came out of the Pokeball rolling along the ground from inertia. Than it started to assemble itself into a three pieced triangle. It essentially looked like three Magnemite's working together.

"USE THUNDER!" He yelled loudly to Magneton.

Magneton started rolling very quickly in the air, forming a large electrocuted circle. Sparks started coming off the Pokémon, and were lighting various objects of fire. One of the sparks moved in the direction of the three teenagers, and struck R.J. in the side.

"Are you ok?" asked Brooke, helping her to "her" feet.

"Yeah," He answered, "it's but a flesh wound."

Cyndaquil ran out, just beyond R.J's side and bashed into Magneton using fire spin. One spoke of the Pokémon's body broke off, and the other two were pulled along by magnetism. Cyndaquil bashed into the Pokémon again, hitting it so hard the Pokémon broke into three separate parts. Two of the parts were grabbed by Ivysaur using vine whip. The third charged back toward Cyndaquil in anger. Cyndaquil released a burst of flame, knocking that part out.

Meanwhile Piplup and Ivysaur were hammering on the other two parts of the immobilized Magneton. Piplup used the water from the lake to pound it with the surf. Than Ivysaur released a large amount of yellow spores from its back paralyzing it further. Magneton was now completely immobilized. A few moments later Cyndaquil burst over. Ivysaur released Magneton, giving Cyndaquil enough time to pound into the Pokémon's side. Magneton was no longer able to fight.

"Magneton, return," the Rapper said, pulling a Pokeball out and holding it up. All three parts of Magneton disappeared into a red light. "GO GOLEM!"

A monstrous looking boulder Pokémon appeared in the center of the lake. It had a large head with bloodshot eyes, stubby arms, and slow legs. It roared fiercely, making the other Pokémon pull their heads back, and straining their mussels. Golem than stomped the ground, making a large ripple and wave among the ground. Both Cyndaquil and Ivysaur were thrown off their feet by the blow. Piplup however rebalanced itself by using it's small wings. A few moments later Piplup hit the water, and channeled it into a consistent wave, pounding Golem directly in the face. Parts of Golems rocky shell flew off into the lake, revealing small amounts of soft pink skin.

After regaining their balance, Ivysaur and Cyndaquil quickly formulated a plan. Ivysaur keeled down and held several clumps of vines over her head. Cyndaquil backed up, and planted her feet firmly in the ground. A few moments later she burst into a full sprint and jumped over Ivysaur. Hitting Ivysaur's vines, Cyndaquil vaulted over the Pokémon, and jumped high into the air. It then came down on Golem, releasing a large volley of stars as it fell. Golem stumbled, and Cyndaquil bounced harmlessly off Golems shell, landing in the shallow lake behind it.

Ivysaur than followed Cyndaquil's attack, releasing a barrage of razor sharp leaves. The attack hit Golem directly, making it fall into the lake, fainted.

"NO NO NO!" The rapper than screamed, throwing a third Pokeball into the lake.

A white light shone bright from the bottom of the lake. A few moments later, a large orange wolf burst out of the lake, in a spray of water. It was an exceptionally large Pokémon, with bright orange fur, and a large plume of lighter tan fur around its head and back.

"Arcanine!" Brooke yelled.

Arcanine was a larger version of the Growlith that had nearly finished them months ago.

"Use quick attack!"

The large orange Pokémon started running at the Pokémon, until it became a large orange blur. Ivysaur jumped out in front of the Pokémon, and dug it's vines into the dirt as a brace. Arcanine struck Ivysaur head on, and Ivysaur wrapped it's vine around it, holing it at bay. Arcanine dug it's paws into the dirt, making sparks fly off its feet. It blew fire in Ivysaur's face, singing many of its vines. But Ivysaur was saved when Piplup burst in with a barrage of bubbles.

Arcanine was thrown sideways away from Piplup's attack. A few moments late Piplup followed with another harsh barrage. However this time the Pokémon vanished, and popped up behind Piplup. A few moments later, Arcanine bit Piplup, holding its entire body within its jaws. If not freed, Piplup was now useless in this fight.

Suddenly Cyndaquil bashed Arcanine in the side, knocking it several feet over. When Arcanine regained its balance, still holding Piplup in its jaw, and ran off across the lake shore, and circled back toward Cyndaquil. A few moments later it bashed Cyndaquil hard in the front, still holding Piplup in its powerful jaws. Cyndaquil fell over in the lake, and nearly fainted.

"Arcanine, use fire spin," the rapper shouted from across the lake shore.

Arcanine started to burn intensely when Ivysaur struck it hard with vine whip, finally forcing its grip from Piplup. Piplup rolled across the ground, making skids in the rocky lake shore. Piplup was struggling to stay awake. Arcanine charged Ivysaur, so Ivysaur released a fine yellow powder in the air. The powder filled Arcanine's eyes, and lungs, causing it to fall over into the dirt. It started kicking its hind legs and in no time, was back to a charge. It started circling Ivysaur, and preventing it from doing anything. The orange Pokémon had turned into a blur. In little time flames started funneling into a plume, where Ivysaur was standing. The plume vanished, and Ivysaur was laying limp on the ground. It could help no longer.

"YES!" The rapper screamed "NOW FINISH THEM!"

Arcanine surrounded the three teenagers, turning again into an orange blur. Using fire spin, it grew hotter and hotter as it circled them. All three trainers were forced to huddle into the center of the circle, as the flames started to singe the hairs on their arms.

"This may be it," Brooke said, clutching her friends in a tight hug.

The flames started to form into another plume, but were suddenly interrupted when a black blob burst from the forest, and pounded into the circle. Arcanine and the black Pokémon bounced off in opposite directions, and reared around to face the other.

"Oh my god!" Michelle yelled, getting her first look at the Pokémon, "That's the Houndoom that attacked me in the woods as a child!"

Houndoom raced toward Arcanine, in a blaze of black and red. In retaliation, Arcanine held its ground, and blew a consistent beam of fire. Houndoom however charged through the beam, and bashed Arcanine directly in its open mouth. Arcanine's jaw was briefly knocked ajar by the blow, however soon managed to close. Meanwhile, Houndoom ran to the other Pokémon, attempting to rally them to help. A few moments later, it returned to bash into Arcanine, who turned itself to throw Houndoom off, without a scratch. Houndoom attempted to perform the same move again, but helplessly bounced off Arcanine.

Suddenly a bright white beam hit Arcanine in the side, causing its fur to ruffle and blow against the beam. Ivysaur was focusing her energy into a violent solar beam, just as it did the first time they battled. However this time Arcanine was unaffected, and stood there, as the beam separated to nothing against Arcanine's fur. Then a large plume of flames struck it's front. Cyndaquil had managed to focus enough energy to unleash a devastating fire blast. A few moments later, Piplup unsealed large bolts of water from his law, using a powerful move called Hydro Pump. Arcanine started stumbling and tripping, unable to take the massive barrage of all three Pokémon. It lifted its head up, as though it was planning a retaliatory strike. However, it was hit with another beam of bright white light, as Houndoom unleashed a powerful Hyper beam. All four attacks than exploded into a vibrant burst of white light, concealing everything within the lake.

When the light faded and the teens opened their eyes, Arcanine fell into the rocky lake shore. All three of the teens Pokémon had also fainted in the dirt.

"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!" the rapper screamed and Houndoom. "YOU STUPID, GOD DAMN, GOOD FOR NOTHING, PIECE OF SHIT, POKEMON! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DIE WHEN I LEFT YOU WEAK LITTLE ASS IN THE WOODS!"

Houndoom lost it, and started charging the rapper. It knocked his over and pinned him against the ground. Than it opened its jaw, as a white light started to form in its mouth.

"No!" Michelle yelled, pushing Houndoom off the rapper. Michelle moved between Houndoom and the rapper, blocking any attack. Houndoom circled around, trying to get a strike at him, but Michelle moved to keep it away. After giving up, Houndoom vanished into the woods.

The rapper stood to his feet behind Michelle, and walked up to her. "Hey babe," he said with a cocky attitude.

Michelle turned around and punched the Rapper square in the face. Knocking him back over. He crawled into the forest, and shortly after he rose over the tree line on Skarmory. As he flew away, into the sunrise, another white Hyper Beam flew from the forest, and caused Skarmory to descend into the trees.

Brooke and R.J. rushed over to the purple Pokeball the rapper had used to capture Azelf.

"What is it?" R.J. asked.

"A master ball. I've never seen one before, but it's impossible for Pokémon to escape on their own."

R.J. started prying at the hinge. He was interrupted however, when Michelle called for their attention.

Michelle was leaning over the three fainted Pokémon on the lake shore. "We need to do something," she yelled to Brooke and R.J.

"Maybe Azelf can help." Brooke suggested to her.

Michelle snatched the Pokeball out of R.J.'s hand, and pulled at the hinge till it burst. Azelf appeared out of the Pokeball. It flew up into the air, and disappeared into a blue streak along the sky.

"No," Michelle. "No..." She collapsed into the dirt, and a tear ran down her face. She pulled Lucario's tear from her pocket, and held it out in front of her. Her tear landed next to it in her palm. Then, a blue line appeared in the reflection of that single drop of water. Soon after it was followed by a yellow and pink line.

Three colored blobs descended from the heaven, and slowed to a hover as they floated over the lake. The sun had started to rise, and Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit started slowly hovering in the defection of the teens, and their fainted Pokémon. Azelf than approached Brook and Michelle, and started motioning them away. A moment later, Uxie as Mesprit formed long colored streaks, as they started circling R.J. and the fainted Pokémon.

R.J. attempted to back out of the circle, but Uxie Mesprit, and now Azelf started forming tighter and tighter passes, forcing him closer in. Eventually R.J. and the three Pokémon were held in a tight ring, as the three colored streaks formed into a bright white light. Michelle and Brooke were forced to close their eyes for a few moments. Then, all at once, the three lights vanished.

Suddenly, Ivysaur and Piplup went rushing to greet Michelle and Brooke. Cyndaquil however was standing next to R.J. in the shallow part of the lake. R.J. was not moving, and he was holding his hands in front of him strangely.

Brooke took a few steps forward and asked, "R.J? How do you feel?"

R.J. started to talk, without looking at her. "You lied to me."

"What?"

"You have dragged me along," he said angrily, "for nearly two weeks now, and convinced me I was a girl! My hands could be completely back to normal now, but instead, you've had me apply coat, after coat of polish. I've been wearing this pink hoodie for weeks, and the entire time you could have at least given me the right name!"

"Your back," Brooke yelled, running up to R.J. and giving him a big hug. "I missed you so much."

R.J. tried to stay angry, but he couldn't help but give Brooke another warm hug. "Thanks."

"I'm not the only one," Brooke said happily.

Michelle walked over shyly, not sure what to say. R.J. reached over to include her in a big group hug. She resisted at first, but then gave in, and joined.

"And look what I got," Brooke said, holding a small bottle labeled 'nail polish remover.'

"Yes," R.J. said taking the small bottle, and applying it to his hands. In no time, the shiny pink glaze had run away into the lake waters.

"Where to now?" R.J. asked his friends. "I have no idea where we are."

"That's a first," Brooke said sarcastically. "I'm not sure. Why not just wander around for a while, now that no one's lives are at risk."

"That sounds great," R.J. said, "But first I need some sleep. Getting zapped in the side by a thunderbolt is pretty exhausting."

"After that," Michelle commented cheerfully, "we could all use some sleep."

"What about the rapper?"

"I have a feeling we won't be seeing him for a while. Azelf has a curse. If you hurt it, than you lose your willpower for days. He may not get out of bed for a week.

Chapter 5

They stayed at their little lakeside camp for a few days to catch up on some sleep. That evening, they all roasted marshmallows by the fire.

"So what was it like?" Brooke asked. "You know, losing your memory."

"Not so bad," R.J. answered. "It's as though you're walking through a dense fog. So you just take it as it comes. Don't worry about what's out there, because there's nothing you can do about it. So just enjoy your time. It helped that I had two of the greatest friends in the world."

Brooke smiled and blushed a little.

"What did happen that night?" Michelle asked. "I can't remember anything."

"Well, I couldn't sleep, so I was sitting there watching the stars. All of a sudden you got up and started walking toward the lake. I thought you were sleepwalking. I actually tried waking you up by pushing you into the mud."

"Uh!" Michelle suddenly remarked.

"But then you just kept going, and you we're holding your head like it hurt. Next thing I knew, I was fighting with you to try and touch Mesprit first."

Michelle looked down steadily at the campfire, contemplating something. But the silence was suddenly broken when R.J. suddenly asked, "Do you wanna hear a story?"

"Sure," Brooke said, a little confused.

"Well, there were these three kids named Brooke, R.J. and Michelle."

"Are they three girls," Brooke asked mockingly.

"No."

"Then is Michelle a guy?"

"No, Michelle's a girl."

"Then you lied, they are three girls!"

"R.J.'s a guy!"

"Oh, sure."

"Ok. So there are these three kids, and they all went to this school called Lakeland."

"Oh, come on. That's such a dumb name. What kinda person names a school Lakeland."

"I did."

"Why not name it something cool, like 'Ridgeveiw."

"No, it's Lakeland. So one day Michelle came up and is all like  
>'I found a copy of this cool book called the zombie survival guide.'<p>

"ZOMBIES! That's the best you can come up with. It's not like I've never heard a zombie story before."

"Any way, Michelle's showing off her book, and pointing out all sorts of stuff about zombies, when suddenly. BAM! An explosion comes from Mr. Carlsons class.

"Alright, now that's good bad guy name. I had a teacher named Mr. Carlson. He sucked."

"Right. So theres an explosion from Mr. Carlsons class. So they go to check and, bam, Mr. Carlsons a zombie. So R.J. grabs his handy dandy shotgun."

"WHOA WHOA WHOA! You can't have a shotgun in a Pokemon story!"

"Well I do! Now anyway, they shot Mr. Carlson!"

"MURDER!" Michelle shouted happily.

"Then we left Lakeland, Michelle and R.J. decided to head off to her house. Brooke, on the other hand, called them crazy and stayed in Lakeland. She was soon overwhelmed."

"Why do I have to die!" Brooke protested.

"Because you keep interrupting me. So when they got to Michelle's house."

"See, she survived. Why do I have to die!"

"So they collapsed the staircase, and barricaded themselves in her room. Then, when they arrived, they found a zombiefied version of Michelle's cat Duster. Michelle didn't have the heart to kill it. To R.J. had to. But he got cut while doing it."

"HA! NOW YOU'LL DIR!"

"Anyway, R.J. turned to Michelle and said,  
>'I'm sorry Michelle. But I'm going to have to stop myself from eating you now.'<br>'No R.J. You can't die. Your so awesome, and hot.'

"Whoa. There is no way Michelle thinks your hot. Right Michelle?"

Michelle looked at Brooke, and then at R.J. nervously. "Never really thought about it."

"See, your not hot!" Brooke finished.

"Anyway," R.J. continued, "Michelle's like.  
>'How will I survive without your help.'<br>'You won't have to.'  
>"Then R.J. raised his shotgun pumped it, and shot Michelle."<p>

"YOU SHOT ME!" Michelle burst out. "I take it back, you are defiantly not hot."

"And then he died." R.J. finished.

"That wasn't a very good story," Brooke criticized, "I'm going to bed."

"ME TOO!" Michelle burst.

"Aw, come on," R.J. said depressed. After that, he tried to stay up, but ended up falling asleep on the ground.

The next day they started following the road to the east. Cyndaquil was running up the road and turning around to make sure everyone was following. Michelle was holding Piplup, who had fallen asleep in her arm. He was blowing a bubble up and down as he snoozed. Ivysaur was walking next to Brooke, who had her head buried in her Pokemon guide book.

"It says here that there is a Pokemon named Manaphy that can, 'swap peoples hearts.' Any idea what that's supposed to mean?"

"Na. Sounds weird." R.J. said.

"Oh. There is a legend here.  
>'there was once a flying Pokemon with rainbow wings. It would rest at a shrine build at<br>the top of a large tower. Then one day the tower burned down. The Pokemon Entei was born  
>from the flames. Then a rain storm started. The Pokemon Suicune was born from the rain, and<br>the Pokemon Raikou was born from the thunder. They were collectively named the three bests.  
>Though it can't be traced, it is believed they have been captured by various trainers. Though<br>no records can be found on their master. The rainbow winged Pokemon stopped coming to the  
>tower after the fire.'<p>

"Thats cool," Michelle said after hearing Brooke's story. "Where is this tower?"

"Not sure," Brooke said. "It doesn't say."

"We should go check it out one day."

Late the next day they arrived at a small town, and used some of the money they had to buy food and medical supplies. R.J. bought a pocket knife, but was chastised by the other two for 'having a weapon.' However he protested that a pocket knife was a tool, and not a weapon, so he bought it anyway.

The next day the encountered a small blue Pokemon with two small antennae. But it vanished shortly after seeing the three teens. It must have been rare, because not even Brooke could identify it.

That night, while their masters where sleeping, Cyndaquil, Piplup, and Ivysaur snuck out of the tent, and started a campfire. Ivysaur, being the most intelligent of them, broke into Michelle's backpack, and pulled out a large bag of marshmallows. Cyndaquil burned three sticks to a point, and Ivysaur showed them how to roast marshmallows. Piplup couldn't hold a stick, so he kept stealing the other marshmallows when they looked away. Feeling a little overconfident, Piplup took a nip at one of Ivysaurs leaves, and Ivysaur used sleep powder to put them all to bed.

The next day, while packing up camp, Michelle found the extra bag of marshmallows and asked the others if they helped themselves to a midnight snack. Both of them denied it, and pointed a finger at the other.

The next day they encountered the small blue Pokemon again. It was sleeping on the side of the road, when Brooke stopped everyone, and pointed it out.

"So, you've really never seen that one before?" Michelle asked Brooke confused. "I though you were the genius of the bunch."

"Never," Brooke answered quietly.

The Pokemon started to stir, and yawned quietly. Then it rolled over a little, and fell back to sleep.

"It's so cute," Michelle said quietly, "let's leave it some Pokefood."

"You sure that's a good idea," R.J. asked skeptically. "Some Pokemon can be vicious if awoken."

"Na," Michelle said. "I can feel its aura. It should be fine."

Michelle slowly approached the sleeping Pokemon and sat down next to it. She left a little food next to it, and patted it on the back. However, Piplup spotted her placing the food and decided to claim if for himself. He rushed forward and pushed the Pokemon aside.

As the Pokemon woke, the first thing it saw was Piplup munching on some food. It looked curiously at the Pokemon. Then, Cyndaquil's predatory instincts kicked in, and she pounced the little blue blob. It cried, and released a small burst of energy, knocking everyone off their feet. Then it disappeared.

"What happened," Michelle asked Brooke.

"Don't know." she answered.

"Hey," R.J. interjected, "Did you see that flash of pink light when it disappeared?"

"Yeah," Michelle answered.

"Same," Brooke added.

"Weird."

They started to feel tired early that afternoon, and set up camp at only 5 o'clock. They all slept clean through the night. Even Michelle, who rarely stays asleep.

R.J. awoke first the next morning, and took off for a short walk into the woods. Brooke woke up next, and Michelle woke up shortly after. Brooke grabbed a second bag of marshmallows from Michelle's backpack, and started eating a few. When Michelle woke up, she greeted Brooke with a cheerful good morning.

"It's gone today!" Brooke suddenly burst, without glancing away from the marhsmallows.

"What is?" Michelle asked.

"The auras. I can't feel any auras! It's awesome." Brooke shouted, her mouth full of marshmallows.

"Are you feeling ok?" Michelle asked. "Actually, I can feel your aura. Weird, and Michelle's not even around."

"What?" Brooke answered, finally turning to Michelle. Suddenly she let out a loud scream, and watched Michelle in confusion. "YOU, WHAT, HOW?" Brooke reached down and grabbed Michelle's hand. She then let out another scream.

"What," Michelle asked confused.

"Look, at your hand..."

Michelle looked down at her hand, then angrily blurted "YOU PAINTED MY NAILS AGAIN!"

"Michelle?" Brooke asked confused.

"What," Michelle responded, "I'm R.J."

"NO, NO, NO," Brooke responded. "I'm Michelle. Look at yourself."

Michelle looked down at her arms and got a confused look. She was wearing her own pink hoodie, and a pair of purple jeans. But she reacted funny seeing them. As though she couldn't believe it.

"Don't You See. I'm Michelle." Brooke said.

"Your Brooke," Michelle said confused.

"I am," Brooke said confused. Then she looked down, and let out another scream.

"What?" Michelle asked.

"OH. WHAT BROOKE SAID! THAT BLUE POKEMON. IT MUST HAVE BEEN MANAPHY. IT SWITCHED US UP!"

"Wait a second. So then your Michelle trapped in Brooke's body?" Which means Brooke's trapped in your body."

"Not exactly." Michelle (Who was really in Brooke's body) said.

"Wait. Then who's in your... AHHHHHH!" R.J. (Michelle) suddenly screamed in a high pitched tone. "I'm a girl again! Wait a sec. This hoodie's still comfortable."

"Yeah," Michelle (Brooke) said. "It is."

"We have to find Brooke. Well, me... her... You know what I mean."

"Yeah. I think I saw her go off that way." Michelle (Brooke) said walking off toward the woods.

"Wait, I should go," R.J. (Michelle) said, "I think that it would freak Brooke out if she saw herself walking at her."

"Good idea. I'll be here."

R.J. (Michelle) went walking off in the direction the Brooke (R.J.) left that moaning.

"Wait wait," Michelle (Brooke) suddenly burst as R.J. (Michelle) walked off. "If your going to be me, you have to act like me."

"I havn't done anything."

"You have my walk all wrong. Your walking like, well, like you." She started to walking around the campsite, mimicking the way R.J. walked. Her head was pointed slightly downward, shoulders relaxed, and legs swinging out far. "I walk like this," she said correcting her walk. Michelle (Brooke) crossed her arms over her chest and took small careful steps. She kept her shoulders taunt and head held high. She moved her legs in such a way that her head and body didn't bob when she moved.

"Alright." R.J. (Michelle) said. He then attempted to mimic her walk. After a few attempts he got it pretty good. "Anything else," he asked before leaving.

"My hair!"

"What about it."

"I always put it in a pony tail to keep it out of my way."

R.J. did nothing.

"Well," Michelle (Brooke) asked. "Put your hair in a pony tail!"

"I don't know how." R.J. said. "I've never done that."

Michelle (Brooke) explained how. But after a few failed attempts, she got frustrated and just did it for R.J. (Michelle)

"Can I go now?" R.J. (Michelle) asked confused.

"Yeah yeah, go go."

After a few minutes, R.J. found himself wandering around with a pony tail by a small creek. (sadly enough, Brooke and R.J.'s hair were so close on length, she didn't even notice the difference)

"Hi, Brooke," R.J. (Michelle) said approaching Brooke (R.J.) at the creek.

"Oh," Brooke (R.J.) said looking up. "Hi Michelle."

Without thinking R.J. (Michelle) asked, "Did you really need a pony tail?"

"WHAT!" R.J. (Brooke) suddenly burst out turning to Michelle.

Michelle (R.J.) then remembered her new identity, realized how rude that comment would be coming from Michelle. To Brooke it would seem out of place, and simply appeared as in insult. "It's just," She muttered attempting to offset Brooke's anger, "it looks so nice down."

"And it doesn't now?" Brooke (R.J.) asked with a girly angry facial expression that almost made R.J. (Michelle) laugh.

"Have I ever told you how pretty you are when your angry?" Under normal conditions this would have made Brooke laugh. However it just seemed weird now.

"Are you feeling ok?" Brooke (R.J.) asked in confusion.

"Yeah... Look... Uh... do you feel any different?"

"No, do you?"

"Like physically different?"

"Let's go find R.J." Brooke asked. "You sound like your running a fever, or something."

"Look. Do this," Michelle said pulling at one of her belt loops.

"Ok." Brooke (R.J.) said doing as instructed. "But I don't see how this proves... That feels weird." Brooke (R.J.) looked down at her pants, and suddenly screamed. "AHHHHH!" perhaps realizing her own identity.

"Your, ME!" R.J. (Michelle) tried to explain.

"What? I'm Michelle? Your a guy!"

"Yes. Wait..."

"AHHHH! I'm traveling with two guys? I'm A guy!"

"Yes... No... Wait... I'm R.J."

"Now Michelle's R.J. That leaves only me and you, who are guys."

"No, Listen. That Pokemon we saw the other day. It switched us. I'm R.J. trapped in Michelle's body. Michelle is trapped in your body. And you... your in mine."

"Wait... I'm Michelle."

"No. I'm Michelle. Your R.J. which is me."

"But you just said your Michelle?"

"I am Michelle. Sort of. Look. Your R.J. For now, stick with that and you should be fine. Now we need your guide book, so we can figure out how to fix this.

"Ok."

Brooke (R.J.) and R.J. (Michelle) headed back to camp. When they got there Brooke (R.J.) found her guidebook and look up Manaphy.

"Well. It's not good. It says it will wear off."

"When?" Michelle (Brooke) asked.

"Depends on Manaphy. Sometimes it lasts a few days. Sometimes it's permanent."

"WHAT!"

"Look, ours won't be permanent. Manaphy uses the attack when it's threatened. How long is lasts depends on how threatened Manaphy is. Not to mention it's affecting three of us, plus our Pokemon. It can't last as long effecting all six of us."

"Well, what do we do?"

"I guess we keep going. That's all we can do."

"So I'm stuck with this hoddie again." R.J. (Michelle) burst out. "Sweet. This thing is so comfortable. I wonder if they make one this size in brown."

"Ew," Michelle (Brooke) commented. "Browns so gross. I would look stupid.)

"I guess. But I wouldn't"

"But your me."

"Right."

They packed up camp and started heading out. Their Pokemon had switched as well, but no one was sure who was who. That morning Ivysaur started eating some of the sticks from their firewood, and Michelle (Brooke) concluded that it must be Piplup. But after realizing that Ivysaur had round teeth, it gave up on the stick.

After giving up Piplup (who was trapped in Ivysaurs body) attempted walking on two legs. But it was having trouble, and kept falling over. It attempted using vines to balance itself, but eventually started walking on all fours. It had a strange penguin like hobble. Brooke (R.J.) laughed while covering her mouth. R.J. (Michelle) yelled at Brooke (R.J.) reminding her of her new identity. Then Brooke (R.J.) attempted to mimic R.J.'s laugh. But R.J. (Michelle) said it just looked better doing Brooke's normal laugh.

Piplup was walking strange. It kept wobbling over on it's wings and moving back and forth. Piplup was the only Pokemon that walked on two legs, and was obviously replaced with a four legged one. Then, when it finally figured out how to stand, it tried running and fell over. After a few failed attempts, it started crying.

"That must be Cyndaquil," R.J. (Michelle) stated. Feeling bad for the Pokemon, he picked it up. At first Cyndaquil (Piplup) resisted, wanting to walk on it's own. But it must have decided that Michelle's arms were conformable, because it settled down, and fell asleep.

That mend Ivysaur was trapped in Cyndaquil's body. Unlike the other two Ivysaur (Cyndaquil) had no problem adjusting. It slipped a little on Cyndaquils pointed paws, but quickly figured it out. It seemed to enjoy Cyndaquil's large amount of energy, and spent the rest of the day running circles around Michelle (Brooke)

According to a new map, there was a small town about a days walk from where they were. They spend spend a large majority of the walk attempting to mimic each other, and learning their behaviors. Michelle was a natural, and adapted to acting like Brooke in no time. After all, she was the only one that kept her gender. R.J. had already spend a little time working on Michelle's walk, and now understood it's practicality, keeping Cyndaquil (Piplup) asleep in her arms. He had trouble with Michelle's voice. He kept making it sound deeper than normal. In the end, he found relaxing made it sound the most natural. It worked fine, except he still spoke like a guy, using 'manly' choices of words. He had trouble saying girly parses, and such.

Of the three of them, Brooke had the most trouble adjusting. Brooke was normally the girlyst of the tree of them. No matter what she tried to do, she kept swinging her hips, and speaking with a lisp. R.J. (Michelle) kept attempting to coach her, but kept getting frustrated. As long as she controlled her hips though, she could pass off well enough as a guy.

When they arrived at town, Michelle (Brooke) headed off to buy more food. Of the three of them, she was the only one that could cook, and took care of most of the food shopping. Meanwhile R.J. (Michelle) and Brooke (R.J.) went into town. Brooke (R.J.) led them on a detour to a clothing store. Brooke (R.J.) kept grabbing items of clothing and putting them in her arms. When she filled her arms, she started walking toward the dressing room. She then handed a bunch of stuff to R.J. (Michelle) and said "Try these on."

"What?" R.J. (Michelle) said confused.

"Try these on!"

R.J. (Michelle) looked down at the girly pile of cloths, and handed them back to Brooke saying, "No way."

"Wound you rather me try them on?" Brooke (R.J.) said.

R.J. (Michelle) started imagining himself wearing the big pile of clothing. Sadly enough, he didn't have to, because Brooke and Michelle took plenty of pictures of 'Katie' playing dress-up. "Fine," he said reluctantly. Though he didn't like the idea of being dressed up, like a rag doll named Michelle.

After coming out of the dressing room in a pink tank top and a pair of purple jeans, R.J. (Michelle) found that Brooke (R.J.) had disappeared. The pile of clothing was on the floor, so Brooke (R.J.) probably went to get more.

_Considering tank top's were made for tank operators, _R.J. thought to himself, _it's kinda ironic that girls wear them more often than guys._

Suddenly a large muscular guy opened the doorway and said, "What up?"

"Nothing." R.J. (Michelle) answered.

"So," the man said shyly, "Whats a pretty lady like you doing all by yourself?"

R.J. (Michelle) could tell by the mans aura that he was trying to flirt with her, which of course made him feel uncomfortable.

"I'm not by myself," R.J. (Michelle) said attempting to sound uninterested. It must have appeared differently then he thought because the man looked even more interested.

"Because I'm here." At this point he grabbed Michelle's hand, which really made R.J. (Michelle) uncomfortable. "Names Butch."

"Uh... Michelle." He attempted to pull Michelle's hand out of Butch's, but Butch grabbed it tighter.

"So, Michelle," Butch said with a creepy voice. "Whada say we head over to my place?"

"HEY!" R.J.'s voice suddenly burst from nowhere. "Leave her alone."

Brooke (R.J.) came over to defend R.J. (Michelle). R.J. (Michelle) pulled his hand free from Butch, and walked over to Brooke (R.J.)

"Who are you!" Butch asked angrily.

"Her Girlfriend... Boyfriend!" Brooke (R.J.) said grabbing Michelle's hand. R.J. (Michelle) attempted to free his hand again, but Brooke (R.J.) grabbed it tighter. He than remembered that if Brooke (R.J.) didn't have it, it would still be in Butch's. And R.J. was in no mood for a Boyfriend.

"Let's go," Brooke (R.J.) said to R.J. (Michelle).

They went to the clerk and payed for the cloths R.J. (Michelle) was still wearing. They then headed off toward the market. As soon as they were out of sight, Brooke (R.J.) released R.J.'s (Michelle's) hand.

"Thanks," R.J. (Michelle) said, now feeling revealed.

"It's what I do," R.J. (Michelle) answered.

"Wait, so that's happened before."

"Not happened, happens. A lot!"

"When. Where am I when it happens?"

"Around. No one messes with two girls when they're with a guy, buy god forbid they be by themselves."

"Thank you. I'll make sure I'm around more often then."

"Hey!" Michelle (Brooke) said approaching with a basket full of food. "What's wrong, your both as white as ghosts."

Brooke (R.J.) told Michelle (Brooke) what had happened. They continued walking around town. At one point they thought they saw butch, and hid behind a stall. After that they all left.

That night they set up camp in a clearing beyond eyesight from the road, just in case. It looked as though it was going to rain, so they set up a tent. Around 9 o'clock they all went to bed.

The next morning R.J. woke up with Michelle shaking him, and calling his name. When he stirred Michelle looked really worried, but didn't say anything.

_Hey, I'm not Michelle. _R.J. thought to himself still half asleep. "Whats wrong?" he asked, but Michelle didn't answer. After a few minutes Brooke entered the tent. R.J. felt lazy, and remained lying on the tent floor.

"Figured it out," Brooke asked.

"Not yet," Michelle answered, "But everyone's here, and at least we're back to normal.

"What's wrong?" R.J. asked again, but no one answered. R.J. tried to stand up, but only managed to stand a foot and a half at full height. He looked up at Michelle, who was towering over him. He only came to her knees at most. He reached out to grab her pant leg, but stumbled back shortly after. In place of where his hand should have been, were two blue bird wings. He looked down at himself and found a blue body, orange beak and small flippers. R.J. was trapped as Piplup!

Michelle stood up and left the tent, zipping R.J. inside. He attempted to grab the zipper, but his feathered wings wouldn't grab it. He had to think of a way to get out.

"Piplup!" a raspy voice said behind him, "how are you?"

He turned around, but didn't see anyone else in the tent, except Ivysaur, shuffling back and forth on its paws.

"Hello?" R.J. asked looking for the source of the voice.

"Friend," Ivysaur said, giving Piplip a big hug with her vines.

"YOU CAN TALK!" R.J. said to Ivysaur.

"Yes," Ivysaur said shyly.

"Can you get the zipper?" R.J. asked.

"The what?"

"That," R.J. said pointing to the zipper.

"Oh," Ivysaur said, "Your talking about the sealer."

"Ivysaur suddenly stopped talking, and stared a Piplup.

"Well," R.J. asked.

Ivysaur still said nothing.

"Can you open it?"

"Open what?"

"THE ZIPP... sealer."

"No. Only master can open it."

_Brooke must be master_ R.J. thought to himself. _I need a plan_.He glanced around the tent, looking for something useful. The only thing in there though was sleeping bags, and their three backpacks.

"Ivysaur," R.J. asked, "how did you get the marshmallows that one day?"

"Marshmallows," Ivysaur asked.

"The little round white things we roast over the fire."

"Oh, you mean the sweeties."

"Sure... the sweeties, get them for me."

"OK." Ivysaur said walking over to R.J.'s backpack. She used one vine to hold the backpack, while she pulled the zipper with her teeth. A few moments later, she pulled out the bag of marshmallows and handed it to R.J.

"Thank you," R.J. said, ignoring the marshmallows and pulling out his pocket knife instead.

"Master says we're not allowed to have that," Ivysaur informed R.J.

"Brooke's not here," R.J. responded. Then he worked on opening the knife. First he tried pulling it apart with his wings, but that didn't work. Then he attempted to hold it in his wings, and pry it with his beak. He fell over. For his third attempt he stood on the knife, and pulled it up with his beak, this time suceeding.

R.J. grabbed the pocket knife in his beak, and flew up to the zipper. He then wedged the pocket knife in the hole in the zipper, and held it in his wings as he fell. The zipper than started to fall, and R.J. fell forward out of the tent, the open knife in his wings.

Michelle looked up, hearing the thump. "OH MY GOD! HOW'D YOU GET THAT!" she screamed moving toward R.J. Michelle snatched the knife, and placed it in her pocket. "I told R.J. not to buy that thing," she grumbled, as she picked up R.J. and held him in her arms. R.J. tried to resist, but Michelle was too strong for him.

Behind Michelle, Brooke was sitting on a log, talking with R.J.'s body. However, R.J. seemed incoherent, and unable to communicate effectively.

"Ok, let's try this again," Brooke said talking with R.J. "Who are you? And which one's R.J?"

"I'm me," R.J. answered.

"No. Who are you? Whats your name?"

"You said I'm R.J. but I'm not R.J."

"Then who are you?"

"Who are you," R.J. asked inquisitively.

"Any luck," Michelle asked Brooke.

"Nope. R.J. must have switched with one of the Pokemon. But he's not making any sense."

"Just keep at it. We'll figure it out eventually. I'm gonna feed him," she said looking down at Piplup (Who was really R.J. on the inside) "He seems hungry."

Michelle reached in her backpack, and pulled out a can labeled Pokefood. R.J. was already sensing the horrible smell of the stuff. When she opened the can, it got even worse. It smelled like a combination of anchovies, nutmeg, and some kinda salty rotten fish. Michelle got a spoonful of the smelly concoction with a plastic spoon, and held it in front of Piplup's mouth. R.J. tried to resist eating it, but Michelle held him tighter, and pried open his beak with the plastic spoon.

It tasted even worse then it smelled. R.J. started coughing it up, but Michelle kept scooping it back into his mouth.

"Come on, not today. I'm already stressed."

She kept force feeding R.J. spoonful after spoonful of nasty food, until R.J. almost threw up.

"Aw," she complained. "You got food on my hoddie."

Michelle set R.J. and her hoddie inside the tent, and went back out to help Brooke.

"Friend," he heard Ivysaur say behind him as Michelle closed the tent behind him. "What's it like out there? Where are we?"

"What?" R.J. asked confused.

"The sealer always leads to a new place. Whats it like today?"

"It's the same place as last night," R.J. told Ivysaur.

"I knew it," Ivysaur muttered to herself.

"Really," a new voice shouted from inside the tent.

Cyndaquil was standing behind R.J. nudging him in the back. Cyndaquil did this all the time to the back of his leg, but he nearly knocked Piplup over.

"New Place! New Place! We must wait for the sealer to open."

_Pokemon are really stupid _R.J. though quietly to himself. _I need to figure out a way to tell Brooke and Michelle who I am._

Meanwhile Brooke and Michelle were hopelessly attempting to communicate with 'R.J.' After about 10 minutes, they just gave up, and started packing camp. Michelle went inside the tent and found Piplup had wrapped himself in her pink hoodie. "That's funny" she said to herself, "that looks just like... R.J!"

R.J. nodded Piplup's head, letting her know she finally figured it out.

"Oh my god. BROOKE! IT'S PIPLUP!" she yelled.

"What," Brooke asked.

"R.J.'s stuck as Piplup. Michelle picked him up and placed him outside the tent.

"Really," Brooke asked. Piplup nodded. "OK. Well, we figured it out. What now?"

"We should probably get going."

"Yeah."

They picked up camp started off down the road. R.J. started wobbling along next to them, but discovered that Piplup tired really easily. When he slowed down his pace, Michelle picked him up again. R.J. didn't want to be held by Michelle, but was too tired to struggle against her, and eventually fell asleep.

The entire time Brooke was pulling 'R.J.'s' arm, making sure he didn't fall behind, or wander off. Then he walked up with a clump off grass in his mouth. Brooke hit the back of his head and screamed, "Spit that out!"

"But it's interesting."

"So you eat it!"

"Uh, Yeah!"

R.J. was stuck as Piplup for the next few days, but Brooke assured him that it would wear off. Michelle realized that Pokefood didn't taste the same to R.J. as it did to Piplup, but she didn't have anything else for him to eat. She tried some eggs, but Piplups stomach couldn't handle it, and they ended up on the ground.

Though he enjoyed independence, R.J. spend a lot of time in Michelle's arms. He absolutely hated being carried, but Piplup's legs wouldn't carry him vary far. He particularly missed being able to hold conversations with his friends, but couldn't speak with them about it. Instead, he spent a lot of time ease dropping on Brooke and Michelle's conversations. They talked about a lot of girly stuff, like shoes and clothing.

Piplup had a strange sleep schedule, which threw R.J. off. He often took short naps, lasting between twenty minutes, and an hour. He also often woke up in the middle of the night, unable to fall asleep.

One night, R.J. awoke and discovered that the tent was open. He used Piplup's stubby wings to fly through the open door. Outside, R.J. (Body) was sitting on a log, staring at the stars. R.J. went over to himself and tried to climb up on his own lap, but his wings and feet wouldn't grip the denim on his jeans.

"There, There, Piplup." R.J. (Body) said lifting Piplup up on to his lap. He was sitting there, staring at the stars. "Their beautiful. You humans have good eyesight. But they don't work underwater. And humans don't swim right, and they can't breath in the water. Plus, the lake isn't very deep."

Being trapped as Piplup, it was more difficult to tell when people were wet, but he then realized R.J.'s cloths and hair were dripping wet.

"I want to be myself again. I don't like this human stuff. Brooke and Michelle make me walk, and help out. I liked being small better." R.J. looked down at Piplup and said, "you have to promise me something. When this is over, take me swimming."

Piplup nodded his head in agreement. For the rest of the night, they sat watching the stars, until R.J. fell asleep in his own lap.

The next morning, R.J. woke up with Piplup sitting on his lap. _I'm myself again_ he thought to himself. He placed Piplup on the ground, being careful not to wake him up. Then he stormed in the tent screaming "I'm back, I'm back."

Without realizing it, he was flailing his arms around, and his wet clothing was soaking everyone.

"Really," Michelle asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Yeah! Come on, wake up!"

Both of then woke up, and stepped out of the tent. R.J. gave both of them a huge, wet hug, and Brooke sarcastically asked, "Couldn't you have changed first?"

"Yeah. But first I have a promise to keep."

R.J. searched the map, and took Piplup to the nearest lake. As soon as they arrived Piplup dove in as happy as can be. He hit the water hard and splashed everyone.

"AH MAN!" Brooke yelled, "I just dried off."

Ivysaur didn't seem to mind being wet, but Cyndaquil grunted angrily. Piplup popped his head out of the water to look back at R.J. He waved a flipper, so R.J. waved back.

For the rest of the day they stayed at camp. The next day they packed up and headed down the road as usual. R.J. was relieved to be on his feet again, and Piplup felt right at home im Michelle's arms. He was asleep in no time.

"Michelle," R.J. said. "Do you know how bad Pokefood tastes!"

"I'm sorry, Piplup can't eat any human food."

"YOU FORCE FED ME!"

"You wouldn't eat!"

"It's nasty!"

"I'm sorry. I tried feeding you eggs, buy you threw them up."

"The vomit tasted better."

"YOU WERE EATING YOU OWN VOMIT!" Brooke shouted.

"I couldn't let you eat vomit," Michelle said.

"Why not? I could hold it down."

"Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else to do."

"It's ok. But if I ever get the chance, I'll make sure to force some down your throat."

The next day they didn't encounter much on the road. R.J. thought he saw a Charizard (A rare sight) but by the time he got the others attention, it was replaced by an Oddish and a strange crater.

The next day they arrived at a town and stocked un on supplies. As promised, R.J. stayed with the girls to ward off any potential stalkers. At one point he though he saw Butch, but at second glance he realized it was just some crazy bodybuilder.

That night they slept not far from town in a clearing. Though the skies were clear when they set up camp, shortly after falling asleep they were pelted by some kinda freak rain storm. By the time they set up the tent, everyone was soaked. For the remainder of the night, no one was able to sleep in their wet clothes, except for Piplup.

For the next few days it rained profusely, so they didn't move far from camp.

"Any idea how long the rain will last?" R.J. asked.

"Not a clue," Brooke answered, "But my guide says that it rains a lot here. We could be at camp for a while."

"Great. Well, how should we pass the time?"

"Towns not far," Michelle proposed. "Maybe we could get some board games."

"But we would have to walk in the rain," Brooke complained.

"No. only one of us would," Michelle answered.

"Who?" R.J. asked. Immediately both girls turned and look at R.J.

A few minutes later R.J. was walking to town in a rain coat. He was grumbling under his breath, about how they were making him walk through the rain. He took Piplup with him, who enjoyed walking through the rain. When he got to town he found a small store and handed the clerk a list of board games.

"Have any of these?" he asked.

The clerk looked over the list and asked, "what's your preference?"

"Well personally I like the game Risk. But we've been traveling, and risk has a lot of pieces." He recalled Brooke's voice in his head, complaining about how guys always like stupid war games.

"How about a deck of cards," the clerk sugegested.

"Sure. I'll take one. What else you got?"

"Well, I've got a pocket chess set." The clerk held up a plastic case with an 8 by 8 checker board pattern on top. The pieces stood on the board by themselves, probably held on by magnets.

"That works," R.J. said.

Brooke wanted a Monopoly game, but R.J. couldn't find one that would fit in his backpack. Eventually he settled on the chess set and a deck of cards.

"How much," he asked the clerk.

"Ten Pokedollars."

"Alright. Any idea how long the rain will last?"

"Yeah actually. There's a weather institute north of here. The weather man said it'll last for a while. At least a week."

"A week. That's not good. On second thought, get me a Risk and Monopoly game."

"Twenty more Pokedollars."

"Ok." R.J. reached into his wallet and pulled out 30 Pokedollars. Normally he wouldn't pay that much for a few games he couldn't keep, but if they would be stuck there for a week, it seemed worth it. He then packed up his backpack, and headed back to camp.

"What'd ya get?" Brooke asked eagerly as R.J. entered the tent.

"Got a travel chess set, some cards, and a Monopoly, and Risk game, Pokemon edition!"

"Why did you get so much. Were going to have to leave them behind when we leave."

"Well, that won't be for a while. The clerk says there's a weather institute north of here. The rain is going to continue for at least another week. Past that, no one knows."

"Well," Brooke asked, "what should we play first?"

They set up a game of Monopoly. Brooke played as Pikachu. Michelle also wanted Pikachu, but settled on a bike instead. R.J. played as a Pokeball, but it kept rolling around the board. To solve that problem, he stuck a piece of clay he dug up in the bottom.

After about half an hour, Brooke controlled the yellow and orange sections. Michelle controlled the light blue section, and Victory road (the second best space in the game). R.J. only controlled one property, the spirit pillar (best space) and picked up the dice for his turn.

"Four and Four," R.J. said moving his piece.

"HA," Michelle tinerjected," Lake Acuity. That's my space."

"How much?"

"550 Pokedollars."

"What! It can't be that much."

"I got a hotel."

"Fine." R.J. handed Michelle 550 Pokedollars, about half of what he had. "One and one," he said rolling his next turn.

He moved his piece two spaces, and landed on Lake Valor, another of Michelle's properties with a hotel.

"How much," he asked reluctantly.

"600."

"But the last one was 550."

"And this one is 600."

R.J. didn't have enough, so he mortgaged Spirit Pillar, leaving him only 20 Pokedollars after fines.

"2 an 2. Wow I'm lucky. Three doubles in a row." He moved his piece and landed on a neutral space, Pewer City. But he couldn't buy it. He rolled again and got a 4 and 4.

"HA," Brooke burst, "4 doubles puts you in jail."

"YES!" Michelle burst. "If you can't pay off your mortgage, I can buy your property."

R.J. sat in jail while Brooke and Michelle battle over spaces. After four turns, Michelle bought the Spirit Pillar, and quickly placed a hotel. She then quickly eliminated Brooke and R.J., and won the game.

"Let's play Risk," R.J. said, "I'm good at that."

R.J. kept bragging about how good he was, but after an hour his green pieces were surrounded by a combined army of Brooke's blue and Michelle purple. He was being attacked on all sides, constantly. Ultimately hey was defeated by the combined efforts of Brooke and Michelle.

They spent the next few days playing board games and card games. R.J. taught them how to play a three hand version of euchre, but even R.J. didn't seem to get the rules. R.J. enjoyed playing chess, and unlike the other two games, he was pretty good at it. Brooke won most of the Monopoly games, and Risk always ended with Brooke and Michelle ganging up on him.

"We've got a problem," Michelle announced one morning after breakfast. "Were out of food."

"WHAT! We bought plenty of food, how can we be out?" Brooke asked.

"I only bought enough food that we could cook, and there is no way to start a fire right now."

"Well," Brooke responded, "I guess we're going to have to send someone back to town."

"Not me," R.J. burst, "I had to go last time."

"Well I don't want to go," Michelle interrupted.

"Why don't we draw straws," Brooke sugested.

"That's great," R.J. said, "except we don't have any straws."

"We could draw Monopoly cards. Whoever gets the cheapest property has to go to town."

"Works for me," Michelle said.

"Alright."

They all drew cards, and unfortunately Michelle drew pellet town, the worst in the deck. So she covered up with a rain coat and started off for town. After only 15 minutes Michelle walked in saoked in water.

"What happened," R.J. asked confused.

"Some kid on a bike, road by and pushed me in a puddle!"

"What a jerk!" R.J. burst.

"Why!" Brooke asked in confusion.

"I don't know. Just wanted to be a jerk, I guess."

"I'll go get some food," R.J. said reluctantly.

"You don't have to," Brooke responded, "I'll go instead. And if I see that biker kid, I'll give him a piece of my mind."

"Ok," R.J. answered.

Brooke dressed herself up in a rain coat, and headed off in the direction of town.

"Wanna play a game of chess," R.J. asked.

"Sure," Michelle said.

After only a couple of moves, R.J. moved his bishop diagonal from Michelle's king and announced "Check."

Michelle glanced down at the board, and looked uneasy.

"Your move, Michelle."

"Michelle, are you ok?"

"Michelle!"

"Mi...e?"

"Mi...ch..e...ll..."

Brooke was nearly half a mile up the road already. The landscape was completely different now. The roads were completely flooded on both sides. The grass was a brighter shade of green than normal. While walking down the road, Brooke found a large walking stick. Then, all of a sudden, she heard the sound of bicycle spokes popping against a card. When Brooke turned around, an obnoxious looking boy on a bike was barreling right at her.

"DIVE BOMB!" he screamed, ridding right at her.

Brooke sidestepped him, narrowly avoiding the handle of his bike. He then swooped around to make another strike. Brooke braced her stick into the ground, and waited for him to pass. She then sidestepped again, and pushed the stick lower, forcing the boy to ride over. He lost his balance and fell into a puddle.

"Please go away," Michelle said yelling across the room.

On the other side of her bedroom, and giraffe was standing, looking at her.

"Please," Michelle said, with a hint of fear in her voice.

It looked over at her, and the spots started to move on its neck.

"Pretty Pretty Please" Michelle's voice was quivering heavily now.

The lights in the room started to turn in a hint of green. The room got a cold feeling, and the lights started to flicker. Michelle wrapped a blanket tighter around her, and the giraffe looked away. It moved over to her book shelf and started sniffing a book labeled, 'Michelle's third grade year.' Michelle then hid her head under the blanket. The giraffe started eating the book and Michelle started screaming.

"STOP STOP STOP!"

The giraffe started screaming "Michelle! Michelle!"

Michelle's chair started shaking, and the screaming got louder.

"MICHELLE! WAKE UP!"

Michelle opened her eyes, and Brooke and R.J. were leaning over her, looking worried.

"What's going on?" she asked confused.

"You've been yelling about a giraffe, and the third grade."

"What third grade," she asked.

"She's running a fever," Brooke said placing her hand over Michelle's head.

"AH!" Michelle suddenly burst, "make it stop."

"Make what stop?"

"It," Michelle said pointing to the top of the tent.

"I think she's hallucinating," Brooke speculated. "You should know all about that R.J."

"It was only one time," R.J. burst angrily.

"Sure." Brooke responded.

"Please," Michelle said angrily.

"Michelle has plenty of medicine. She must have some Tylenol somewhere."

"Will that help with a fever?" Brooke asked.

"It should. But were is it?"

After a few scans of the tent, R.J. took a look outside. A first aid kit was sitting on a crudely fashioned, table. When he found the Tylenol, he discovered that the inside was filled with water. All the pills had dissolved. Suddenly someone screamed from inside the tent. R.J. ran back to help.

Inside, Michelle was shaking, and waving her hand at Brooke. Her head was buried in her arm like she was afraid. The rest of her was wrapped tightly in a blanket.

"What happened," R.J. asked.

"Nothing. I just gave her a blanket.

"Michelle?" R.J. asked.

Michelle looked over at him, and tears started to form in her eyes.

"The guide says they're is a hospital not far from here," Brooke announced. "Maybe we should get her looked at."

Suddenly Michelle ran off and hid under a sleeping back.

"Did you find the Tylenol," Brooke said, ignoring Michelle's strange behavior.

"Yeah, unfortunately. The bottle flooded, and all the pills dissolved. It looks like the hospital is out best option."

"AHHH!" Michelle screamed. She then made a strange gargling noise.

"Michelle," R.J. asked shaking her. She didn't respond. "Michelle? She's out."

"So we take her to the hospital?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah. Sounds like the best plan."

"No hospital!" Michelle yelled in her sleep.

Michelle was sitting in a hospital bed, with an oxygen mask. An I.V. was placed in her arm, and for some reason she was unable to move.

"Ready!" a doctor with a thick German accent said walking into the room. He was wearing a surgical mask that was covered with blood. Behind him he was carrying a stretcher, with a tank attached labeled nitrogen. "We're all ready." The doctor said coldly.

"What do you want?" Michelle asked fearful.

"It's not what I want. It's was they want." The doctor pointed to a window hanging on the opposite side of Michelle room. A moment later, it lit up in a sickly florescent green, revealing a line of black emotionless silhouette's.

"What do you..." Michelle attempted to ask the silhouette's, but the doctor pulled a zipper across her mouth so she couldn't speak.

"Shall we get started?" The doctor said. He pinched the tube on her I.V. until Michelle passed out.

Michelle woke up inside the tent again. Rain was still pouring down, and neither Brooke or R.J. were in the tent. She sat up, but fell back down moments later.

"Did you hear that?" Brooke asked.

R.J. and Brooke pulled open the door of the tent. They both then entered, and Brooke grabbed a pop tart from a container. She then handed it to R.J. who held it in front of Michelle.

"Take it," he said," you haven;t eaten since yesterday morning."

The pop tart was glowing green, and dripping with some kinda thick black ooze. As the ooze ran off, it formed in big globs on the tent floor. R.J. then bent down and put his knee in one. It squished against R.J.'s knee, and spread into a black slime against the tent floor. Michelle tuned away, so R.J. couldn't give her the pop tart.

"Michelle. You have to eat."

R.J. held the pop tart closer to her mouth and she turned her head further. He kept pushing it around her head, until she couldn't turn it any further. He pressed it into her mouth, and she pushed his arm away.

"Come on Michelle."

R.J. pushed the pop tart into her mouth. The black ooze started forming around her lips, and the inside of her mouth. It forced it's way down her throat, and started trickling. It felt like gump, as is slithered closer to her hard. She was running out of options.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Michelle screamed throwing the pop tart across the tent, and fighting her way outside. When she got to the door, she forced it oped, and ran into the rain.

When R.J. and Brooke came out she was sitting on the wet ground, unmoving. She was staring across the road with a blank look. R.J. and Brooke peeled back the doors of the tent, to see.

"I'm not getting her," Brooke said, looking over at R.J.

Suddenly Michelle started screaming again, and ran back into the tent. "THAT DIGLET'S GOT A BODY!" She screamed, practically in tears.

"There's nothing there," Brooke said looking out of the tent. "A Diglet would never come up in the rain."

"That's it," R.J. said. "We're going to the hospital. Michelle?" he asked nudging her.

Michelle was burring her face in a pillow and wouldn't move.

"Michelle?"

"I'M SLEEPING!" she suddenly snapped at R.J. angrily. Then she fell limp again.

R.J. and Brooke waited for Michelle to pass out again. They then wrapped her in a rain coat, and sleeping bag. They dragged her outside, and draped a tarp over her, so she didn't get wet. Then they worked on packing up the camp site. They packed only the necessities and abandoned any games, or toys unless they could fit them in their pockets. Just before they finished, Michelle suddenly jumped up and pushed the tarp off her head. She then started walking down the road, and nodding her head.

"Michelle," R.J. called trying to get her attention. He ran to catch up with her, and started walking by her side. She didn't even acknowledge he was there. Michelle's walk had changed now. She was stumbling, and hardly coordinated enough to keep going.

Brooke packed the last piece of camp in Michelle's backpack, and pulled something else out. She then ran to keep up with R.J.

R.J. was now holding Michelle now to keep her from falling over. Brooke came up on her other slide, and slipped a little silver stone into her hand. R.J. immediately recognized it as the little tear shed by Lucario as he passed. Michelle fell over, giving Brooke and R.J. a large hug.

They placed Michelle's backpack on her back, and started walking down the road with her. After only a few steps, she nearly collapsed. R.J. and Brooke grabbed her, and started walking down the road. They pulled her arms over each of their shoulders so she couldn't fall again.

Michelle seemed to get heavier with each passing step. Her arm was starting to tear into R.J.'s shoulder, and Brooke was constantly stumbling. R.J. pulled Michelle higher on his shoulder, to keep her going.

"We can do it," he said to Brooke. His voice was quivering with a hint of uncertainty.

"I know," Brooke answered shyly.

"Hey Brooke," R.J. called.

"What?"

"Your hand is pressing into my shoulder."

"Oh," Brooke said, taking a little tension out of her arm.

"Thanks," R.J. finished.

The rain kept pouring on their backs, and rain through their hair, and down the backs of their coats. In no time, the inside of all of their coats were soaked. Michelle was the only one with a rain coat, and hood. It felt like a cold razor running down the back of R.J.'s spine.

Suddenly, Brooke lost her footing and nearly tripped. Michelle fell down on top of her, and R.J. worked on holding her, so no one fell over. Brooke breathing suddenly quickened, and she let out a soft cough. A few moments later R.J. followed with a second one. He then pulled Michelle up again, and started down the road.

The rain felt like it was growing thicker and thicker. Off in the distance a pair of headlights.

"Do you see that, Brooke?" R.J. asked.

"Yeah," Brooke said.

"It looks awesome."

"Yeah," Brooke said. "I love ice cream."

"What. What are you seeing."

"There is an ice cream shop off on the side of the road."

"No," R.J. said, "they're headlights."

"We're hallucinating," Brooke shouted to R.J.

Suddenly Cyndaquil came racing up the road, ahead of them. The flames were constantly being doused and reignited. Cyndaquil was doing circles around them, obviously agitated by the rain.

Up in front of R.J. the road started splitting in his vision. There was a sign post with at least 10 arrows pointing in different directions. They all were labeled hospital.

"Which way do we go?" R.J. asked Brooke.

Brooke looked up at the sign, and got a confused look on her face. "I don't know. They all say ice cream."

"Think Brooke. Get out the map."

Brooke let go of Michelle, leaving R.J. to carry her. She then pulled out a scribbled map. After a few moments glancing at it she lifted her head to look around.

"That way," she said pointing at a tree.

"That's a tree," R.J. said.

"Oh." Brooke looked back at the map. R.J. glanced over, but every city on the map was labeled hospital. Michelle then passed out again on his shoulder, nearly knocking R.J. down. Brooke than jumped up to help.

Suddenly Cyndaquil darted up one of the many roads, sputtering flames everywhere and squeaking. A few moments later Cyndaquil was joined by Piplup, and then Ivysaur. Behind them R.J. thought he could see the faint outline of some smog over the horizon.

"They know were they're going," R.J. said as he started walking in that direction.

They followed the Pokemon down the road, and R.J. kept coaxing them to go forward. After about an hour, Michelle started to wake up again. Brooke was struggling to keep her balance. Michelle shifted her weight a little to keep herself off Brooke's shoulder, but then R.J. nearly fell over. So she shifted back center.

"There it is Michelle," R.J. said as a bright red sign started to shine through the fog. "At least, I think so."

"I see it too," Brooke said. "It says."

"HOSPITAL!" Michelle suddenly screamed. She tore herself away from Brooke and R.J. and started sprinting down the road, away from the building. In the rain, Brooke nearly fell again. R.J. took off for Michelle.

Pebbles were flying up off Michelle's feet, and nailing her in the sides of her legs. Suddenly a huge weight dove into her back. R.J. had tackled Michelle, and was holding her arms into the rocky dirt road. She kept struggling and kicking, until she tore one arm free. She then elbowed R.J. in the side, and pushed him off of her. She started running again, but R.J. came up and grabbed her arms.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Michelle screamed. She kicked her leg out behind her and hit R.J. in the groin. R.J. fell to his knees, and covered his stomach.

"Are you ok," Brooke said coming to his aid.

"Ye..hh" R.J. mumbled quietly. "Get her, before she gets lost."

Brooke gave R.J. a hug and took off after Michelle.

As soon as she could no longer hear anyone, Michelle went and hid under a tree. She pulled a stuffed bear doll from her pocket, and clutched it in her hands. The then pulled her knees to her chest, and clutched the bear between them.

"What's that," she asked the bear, with a quiver in her voice. "I do like my friends." She held the bear closer to her ear, and the stitched smile faded to a concerned look.

"Michelle," Brooke screamed into the thick rain fog. The trees grew darker around her, and the road was splitting into broken pieces. "Michelle. MICHELLE!" Brooke followed a road until she walked into the side of a building. Suddenly the road disappeared, and there was nothing but the side of a house. She walked off to the side, until she ran into a three. "MICHELLE!" she screamed again.

"I'm right here," a voice called out from the fog. Michelle was standing a few feet from Brooke, wearing a pink hoodie.

"No Me," another Michelle said, standing in a different direction.

"Over hear," a third Michelle said, exiting from a nice looking car.

"Yoo hoo," a fourth voice called, from a figure standing between two trees.

"Brooke," Michelle whispered, leaning over the back of Brooke's shoulder.

"No," Brooke answered. "You have me confused. I'm looking for your friend.

"I'm right here," all the voices said in unison.

"No. NO!" Brooke screamed. She started walking along past the end of the house. When she turned the corner she started backtracking until she tripped over a rock. She closed her eyes for a moment. Under her, she felt a small warm lump of dirt.

"You missed me," the lump suddenly said, and when Brooke turned to look, she was sitting on another Michelle.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Brooke leaped up, and started running madly.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Brooke's voice called off from somewhere in the forest.

"I know they're looking for me," Michelle said to the bear in her arms. "I don't want to. No." She held the bear further from her ears. "NOOOO!" she then screamed, chucking the bear across the road. When she looked up, Brooke was standing there with a confused look.

"Michelle?" Brooke asked in confusion. Michelle looked at her, and said nothing. Brooke looked down at the ground were Michelle threw the bear. It had turned back to the little tear the Lucario left on Michelle's shoulder.

"Brooke," Michelle said, looking up at her.

"It is you, isn't it?"

Michelle turned her head away. The highlights on her face turned a red color, and the sky darkened. Brooke walked over cautiously.

"Michelle," she said quietly. Michelle watched her carefully as she sat down. Brooke placed her hand on Michelle's back, to try and calm her down. A tear ran down Michelle's face.

"What's going on, Brooke?"

"I don't know. We're trying to fix it."

"What do we do?"

Thunder boomed in the distance. Michelle looked up at Brooke.

"I'm not sure." Brooke said.

Behind them, they heard the sound of a wheel chair in the distance.

"I think I have an idea," Brooke said.

"I don't want to!" Michelle said.

"I don't either," Brooke said looking at her.

"What if it doesn't work."

Brooke slipped the little silver stone into Michelle's lap. "It will. I just know it."

"OK," Michelle said, with a quiver in her voice.

Two nurses came up the road, each with a wheel chair. Brooke and Michelle each came to their feet. Brooke than stepped to place Michelle down into a wheel chair. She yelped, and pulled away.

"It's ok," Brooke said, sitting down in one of the wheel chairs.

Michelle nodded her head. She then started moving toward one of the chairs. She flinched and turned away for a moment, but stopped herself. She passed out.

Chapter 6

"She's waking up," R.J. said quietly.

Brooke put down a magazine she was reading, and looked up to Michelle.

"Michelle," R.J. asked, "How are you?"

Michelle opened her mouth, but nothing came out but a squeak. She attempted again to say something, but her voice was too scratchy to understand.

"Michelle?" Brooke asked.

"What's wrong?" R.J. added.

Michelle started to say something again, but then she grabbed her through, and let out a painful grunt.

"I think she lost her voice," R.J. said digging in his pocket for chance. "Go to the gift shop, and get a pad of paper, and a pencil."

"Ok," Brooke said running off.

"I bet you want to know what happened," R.J. said to Michelle.

She nodded.

"Well, it's a bit of a blur. After we left camp, I think me a Brooke started getting hallucinations too. When we got to the hospital, they did an analysis of all our stuff. Turns out, all our food was spiked."

Michelle gasped.

"Apparently, when our first aid kit flooded, our medicine got into all our food. Doctors said they've never seen a cocktail quite like that. That, in combination with a simple rhinoceros, led to some really weird brain patterns."

Brooke came back in the room with a pencil, and notepad. Michelle then started scribbling something on it. She then handed it back to Brooke.

"How do you expect me to read this," Brooke burst, with a confused look. "It's just a bunch of chicken scratch! What's that say? 'I'm a bad scream.' 'I've a mad tea?"

"Hey! Let me see! I think it says 'I ate a weird key."

"No, that's definitely an S there."

"YIP!" Michelle suddenly made a weird sound. Her facial expression showed she was angry. Then she held out her hand, asking for the pad back. Brooke handed it back, and she started scribbling again. She then handed it back to Brooke.

"YOU ATE A CHICKEN!" Brooke suddenly burst.

Michelle shook her head, no.

"No, No." R.J. added, "I think that's a dog."

Michelle yipped again, angrily.

"Than what's that?" Brooke asked.

"I think that's a pie?"

"Then where's the chicken?"

"There is no chicken! That's you, right Michelle?" R.J. asked pointing to the image.

Michelle nodded, confirming he was correct.

"Than what's that," Brooke asked pointing to the drawings head.

"I think that's her eyelashes."

"She doesn't wear mascara."

"Well of course she's not wearing a mask. That clearly her nose right there."

"No, mascara. Makeup for eyelashes."

"Oh, well maybe her eyes are closed."

Michelle nodded.

"Ok, so for this thing over your head, is that a bubble?"

Michelle held her fingers together, letting them know they were close.

"It's a speech bubble, your talking."

Michelle held her fingers a little closer together.

"You thinking?"

Michelle moved them a little closer together.

"Let's see. Your eyes are closed, and your thinking. Your dreaming."

Michelle nodded, letting them know they got it. She then drew an angry face inside the little dream bubble.

"You dream is angry at you?" Brooke asked.

Michelle got a confused look, and shook her head.

"Your dream is an angry dream."

Michelle shook her head again.

"IT'S A DREAM ABOUT A CHICKEN!" Brooke shouted.

Michelle stared at Brooke. She then snatched the pad from her. She then vary carefully wrote out 'I had a bad dream.'

"Ok. That makes sense," Brooke said.

Michelle wrote some more on the pad, and then handed it to R.J.

"Well, it says, 'I had a dream about a sad Pokemon. It was upset because something happened to it's owner. It felt abandoned, and the owner feels really bad that he can't do anything about it. I tried to help, but the Pokemon attacked me. He threw me off some kinda temple, thingy."

"Temple thingy," Brooke asked.

"That's what it says."

Michelle nodded.

"It could be more from our little acid trip," R.J. said sarcastically. "Why don't you get some more sleep."

Michelle nodded again. She must have been tired, because she was out only moments after relaxing.

"Wakey, wakey," a doctor said entering the room. "Got your chart."

Michelle woke up, and looked over at the doctor. "HI," she said with a scratchy voice.

"Good to see your talking again. The last time you spoke to me, you were swearing at the top of your lungs."

Michelle blushed, apparently remembering. "I'm sorry," she said with her scratchy voice, "I wasn't myself."

"So I've been told. You too young lady," he said pointing at Brooke. "You seemed quite afraid of the I.V."

Brooke put her head down, looking at the little mark in the inside of her elbow.

"Well Ms. Sauls, nearly all the drugs have been flushed out of your system. It's taken you a little longer than your friends because of the cold, but you should be able to leave by tomorrow morning. I'll push the papers, so as soon as the lab comes back negative, you can check out."

"Thank you," she said to the doctor.

"That's an amazing little cocktail you kids discovered. It seems to have astounding properties in helping to break addictions. In fact, with the assistance of hospitalization, I think it could do some good."

"It wasn't very fun," Michelle said looking down at herself. "It feels great to be back in my own skin. Second time I haven't felt like myself."

"So I see. By the way, all your Pokemon are eager to rejoin you. They're down in the nursery. They have been acting up all day."

"Can we go see them," Michelle asked.

"Sure, just tell the nurse first."

The doctor left then room.

"So you remember anything," R.J. asked.

"A little," Michelle said with her scratched up voice.

"Well, what do you remember."

"Uh... You were trying to feed me a pop tart. But it was dripping with black ooze."

"That's why you wouldn't eat it? Man, I had a chance to force feed you, and missed it."

"Yeah. Let's go see the Pokemon."

They walked down to the nursery near the entrance of the hospital. The moment Cyndaquil saw the three trainers, it was jumping up and down against the gate. Shortly after Ivysaur, and Piplup were both joining her.

"HI," Michelle said with the softest voice she could manage. It still came out scratchy though.

Piplup jumped up at Michelle, so Michelle picked him up in her arms. Piplup instantly calmed down. A few moments late, Piplup nipped at Michelle's hospital gown. She pushed Piplup back, and giggled. Cyndaquil started running circles around R.J.'s legs. Ivysaur was wrapping her vines around Brooke, nearly tripping her.

Michelle was discharged early the next morning. The rain was still pouring outside, so they didn't have much to do. Fortunately the hospital was connected to an indoor food market. While wandering around, Michelle bumped into an old man, and knocked everything he was carrying out of his arms. He was wearing a hospital gown, and looked very upset. Michelle helped pick up some of the mans things, and handed them back to him.

"Thank you." The man said with a happy smile.

"Your welcome," Michelle said, handing him the last of his things.

"Whats you name?" he asked her.

"Michelle Sauls," she answered.

"Johnathan Ford," he answered.

"Nice to meet you," Michelle said shaking his hand.

"Could you do a favor for me. You seem trustworthy."

"Sure," Michelle answered.

"I left a vary valuable necklace at my office just across from the hospital. If you get it for me, then I would be happy to give you a huge reward."

"I would be glad to. But I don't need a reward."

"Nonsense. You would be doing me a huge favor. I would be more than happy to help you in return."

"Alright," Michelle said. "Where is it."

Johnathan started scribbling something on a piece of paper. He then handed it to Michelle.

"You can't open it. But it's the office building across the west entrance. It's got a large silver arch over the entrance. Give this to the secretary there, and she'll give you the necklace. Then you can find my room on the fifth floor. Number 226."

"Hey, I was just in there," Michelle said to the man.

"That's weird," he said. "Well I'll see ya later than."

Michelle smiled and nodded. "I'll be back in a jiffy."

Michelle found Brooke and R.J. about the man. They then heeded off toward the office building across the street. When they arrived in the lobby, they were greeted by a wonderful vista of a in ground lobby that was at least 2 stories high. They entrance was at ground level, and a set of golden stairs swept down into a set of arched fountains. They walked down toward the desk, and headed down to the note to the secretary there.

"Alright," she said glancing over the note. She then walked off into the back room and started rummaging through some boxes. She then walked back out with a necklace in her hands. She then put the necklace around Michelle's neck.

"What's that for," Michelle asked.

"That's what the note said."

"Oh," Michelle said blushing.

The secretary then walked back into the back room.

"That's weird," R.J. said. "Do you feel that?"

"Yeah," Michelle answered.

"What is it?" Brooke asked.

"I think, it's an aura. But a necklace can't carry an aura."

Suddenly the silver tear started to feel heavy in Michelle's pocket. She pulled it out, and the tear was glowing a little.

"That's really weird," R.J. said glancing at the tear.

They walked back to the hospital, and took the elevator to the fifth floor. Room 226 was at the back of the floor. When they entered the room, no one was there. They started wandering around the room in confusion. Michelle was still wearing the necklace around her neck. For some reason, she said she didn't feel comfortable taking it off.

"Look at this," Brooke said holding up a newspaper.

"OH MY GOD," R.J. said looking at the paper. "It says, 'adventure Johnathan Ford perished last earning, while climbing a large temple. Authorities are uncertain how he died, but his body was located at the top of the structure. Located just to the south of the city, the temple is believed to be a shrine to an ancient Pokemon. One of his Pokeball's was recovered, but the latch was broken, and the Pokemon had escaped.' It's dated for over 50 years ago.

"Oh my god," Michelle gasped. Suddenly they tear got heavy in her pocket again.

"What is it," R.J. asked.

Brooke and R.J. walked up to see what Michelle was doing. She pulled the tear from her pocket, and it was glowing more intensely than before. Suddenly, it enveloped all three of them in light.

The next thing they knew, they were looking at a temple in the distance. At the top of the temple, a black silhouette was standing in the rain. It stood on four paws, and looked larger than all three of them combined. Suddenly, the Pokemon let out an enormous road, that made the stones of the temple rattle.

The light then faded, and the three of them were back in the hospital room.

"What was that?" R.J. asked.

"I have no idea," Michelle answered.

"I bet if we go to the temple, we can find out," Brooke suggested.

The three of them bought a set of heavy duty rain coats, and even pairs of water resistant pants. They got changed in the bathrooms, and started walking through town. A vender at a news stand pointed them in the direction of the temple, and at the edge of town they found a path into the woods.

The rain felt as though it was growing heavier and heavier as they walked. Cyndaquil was walking at an extremely slow pace, and constantly grunted about the rain on her back. But Piplup kept encouraging Cyndaquil to keep moving.

"What do you think we'll find when you get there?" R.J. asked Michelle.

"Not sure. The aura in the necklace keeps getting stronger. Maybe Johnathan is trapped in it somehow. So he needs us to help him."

Around noon that day they found the temple deep in the forest. It was located in a large clearing, and rose high above the top of the treeline.

When they climbed to the top of the temple, they discovered nothing. The top was vacant, and nothing could be seen beyond a few hundred yards in the fog. The rain was coming down harder now, and a cloud had passed in front of the sun. Everything suddenly got much darker, and a depressing feeling washed over all three of them.

"I don't understand," Michelle said depressed. "There's nothing here. I was certain that there was something we had to do, and nothing. It's just... EMPTY!" Michelle yelled, and a small flock of birds flew off from under the trees. R.J. walked up and gently placed his hand on her back.

"Guys," Brooke's voice cut in with a soft quiver.

R.J. and Michelle turned around. They both suddenly froze when they saw the silhouette of a large four legged Pokemon against the gray sky. Lightning flashed to reveal a brown Pokemon, with bright red ripples in its fur. They blew like flames in the wind. It's eyes were blood red, with deep black pupils. It looked angry, and soulless.

"Arcanine?" R.J. asked staring at the evil looking giant.

"Worse," Brooke answered. "Entei. The legendary beast of fire."

A small cloud moved out from the sun, illuminating the Pokemon's evil features. It stalked closer to them, as anger filled it's eyes. It then let out a terrifying roar, that could easily top the volume of a thunder bolt. It rushed forward, and in moments positioned itself inches from Michelle's face. It parted it's lips, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. Michelle stood, paralyzed in fear, and Entei opened it's massive jaw.

Suddenly Entei stumbled sideways. It nearly fell as Cyndaquil dove into Entei's sides. Cyndaquil then circled around to make a second tackle into Entei. This time, Entei thrashed to the side, and Cyndaquil was thrown off sideways. Cyndaquil's pointed paws skidded along the top of the temple. Entei then charged at Cyndaquil to stop another strike.

Ivysaur dove in front of Entei, entangling Entei's legs in thick vines, and tripping the Pokemon. Ivysaur was dragged along under Entei, suspended in thick vines. Entei fell to it's side, and started skidding along the bottom of the temple. It's back burst into a barrage of flames, as it attempted to kick at Ivysaur between it's legs. It missed several times, but managed to hit Ivysar directly in the bulb. Ivysaur flew off, and started skidding along the temple.

Entei jumped to it's feet. It then opened it's mouth, and the inside started glowing orange. Suddenly the rain started to form into a wave of water. It pounded Entei in the side, splitting off Entei's fur. Piplup kept forming water into wave after wave of pressure. Entei stumbled, but managed to keep it's footing. A moment later, a burst of flames started to erupt from Entei.

A beam of bright white light struck Entei in the side of the face. It split off of Entei's in ripples of light. Ivysaur was standing in a small beam of light, and directing a solar beam at Entei. It was the most vibrant Ivysaur had ever produced, and even forced the sunlight to bend toward Entei. Entei roared, releasing a huge burst of flames in all directions. Ivysaur was forced to turn and shield herself from the attack. Entei turned its attention on her.

Suddenly Cyndaquil dove into Entei again, engulfed in flames. Entei seemed to be improving. This time, Entie tunred its body sideways, to keep itself from falling. Entei's body was then enveloped in flames, and Entei charged directly into Cyndaquil, throwing her into a low wall at the side of the temple, unconscious. Entei then turned back to Ivysaur, who was backtracking in terror.

Suddenly, a plume of rain water created a huge wave, pushing Entie, Ivysaur, and even the trainers off their feet. Piplup then walked toward Entei, batting his wings, and throwing water at Entei's face. Entei threshed and turned, attempting to block the water. Anohter bright beam struck through the water, coming from Ivysaur. Entei let out an even more powerful roar, forcing both Pokemon to shield their ears. Entei unleashed a burst of flames at both Pokemon. Piplup stood his ground, but Ivysaur looked considerably injured.

Entei turned to fight Ivysaur, but Piplup unleashed more attacks to distract it. Unfortunately Entei didn't even shift its gaze. Entei opened its mouth, unleashing a fierce barrage of flames. Ivysaur was covered with flames, and burning. She wouldn't be able to fight any longer. After finishing off Ivysaur, Entei turned to Piplup. Entei thrashed around the temple at high speeds, throwing flames everywhere. Piplup was attempting to follow Entei, but it was moving to fast. Piplup got disoriented, and Entei came behind Piplup with a flame tackle. Piplup flew across the temple, but managed a course correction with his wings. Piplup landed graceful on his feet, met shortly after by Entei's foot. Entei stomped, pushing so much force on Piplup, he unleashed a muted whine. Water started to drain from Piplup's mouth, forming a large puddle on the wet stone ground. Piplup mustered enough strength to make a plume of water, forcing Entei off of it. Piplup then erupted, throwing huge amounts of water in all directions.

Piplup's attack became focused into a beam of Icy water. Entei in turn unleashed a concentrated beam of fire. They collided between them, spitting plumes of water and fire rocketing off like firecrackers. The noise of the attack grew louder and louder. Suddenly Entei burst into a plume of flames and smoke. Piplup was not as lucky this time, and flew across the top of the temple. Piplup had passed out.

Entei then turned it's attention on Michelle. It's gaze paralyzed her in fear. Entei stalked closer with a limp. Still Michelle just stood there. Entei then opened its mouth, as flames mounted in the back of its through. Michelle's mind went blank.

A black shadow jumped onto Entei's back, throwing Entei off balance. Entei jumped and thrashed, attempting to throw the shadow off. After losing his grip, R.J. slid off Entei, and stumbled several steps backward. Entei turned at batted at R.J. with it's paw. Entei's claws slid across R.J.'s chest, and his right arm. He then fell over into the low wall on the side of the temple.

Michelle burst back into action again. She averted her eyes from Entei's to keep herself from getting paralyzed again.

"Distract it!" She called to Brooke.

"Are you crazy!" Brooke shouted from somewhere on her left.

"JUST DO IT!" Michelle shouted. She could feel Entei's Aura growing stronger, as it moved closer again. Then a stone struck Entei in the side of the face.

"Over hear ugly!" Brooke shouted from across the temple. Then she threw another stone at Entei. It turned and roared at Brooke, getting struck with another stone in the process. Michelle saw her chance. She tore the necklace from her neck, and jumped on top of Entei. She then pulled the necklace into Entei's mouth, and struggled to close the clasp. Entei thrashed around, but not as servery as with R.J. Michelle slid off, and landed on her back. The piece of the necklace was still held in Entie's teeth.

Michelle looked up, and discovered Entei was looking down at her, with the necklace hanging from it's mouth. The small red gem had fallen into Michelle's lap. She picked it up, and Entei lunged at her. Michelle held the gem out in front of her. Suddenly it started glowing in the dark rain. Entei roared at the clasp. It suddenly grew immensely heavy in Michelle's hands. She held it out further in front of her. A ringing noise started forming in her ears. Entei roared again. Her arms grew tired, and ached. Entei roared louder. It was throwing a fit, about the glowing necklace. The rain got a little lighter suddenly, and the necklace started shaking. Michelle held it further in front of her.

A bright white light enveloped everything in the temple, as the necklace exploded in Michelle's hands. When it faded, Entei was gone. The clouds had parted, and the rain stopped. In her hands, the stone had cracked in two, and the beautiful red color had faded to gray. Red mist was floating off the necklace, and formed into a small figure in Michelle's palm.

"Thank you," a voice whispered, as the red mist formed into the figure of Johnathan Ford. It then blew away in the wind.

Michelle pulled some medicine from her pack, and started feeding that to the Pokemon. Piplup was closest to her, so he was healed first. In no time, all three Pokemon were on their feet again.

"Michelle!" Brooke called from another behind her. "Come Here! Quick!"

Brooke was crouching over R.J. who was holding his stomach tightly. Michelle came, and looked over R.J. carefully. His coat was torn, and pieces of his shirt were sticking through underneath. Blood was seeping through, and running over his sides. His right arm was also bleeding, but not as bad. Michelle carefully removed his coat and shirt. He was so skinny, that the center of his stomach receded in past his ribs. Across it was a red splotch that was growing by the second.

"Piplup," Michelle said, "help me clean it."

Piplup did as Michelle instructed and doused R.J. helping to clean the wound.

"Brooke. Get R.J.'s pocket knife from his backpack."

"On it."

Michelle pressed R.J.'s torn shirt against the wound. Brooke returned with R.J.'s pocked knife, and held it out to her.

"Hold this," Michelle told Brooke, pointing at his shirt.

"But it's soaked in blood!" Brooke protested.

"Just do it!"

Brooke held the shirt against R.J.'s stomach, putting pressure on the wound. Her face got a distrusted look, as the blood seeped out.

"How bad is it?" R.J. asked with a scratchy voice. "I can't feel anything."

"Michelle's taking care of it. I'm not sure."

Michelle opened R.J.'s pocket knife, and set it down.

"We need a bandage," She told Brooke.

"What about his shirt."

"Too thin." Michelle started looking around for potential bandages. "I know," she said, as she pulled off her rain coat. Under it she was wearing her pink zip up hoodie. She took that off, and started cutting at it with the knife.

"Prop him up," she told Brooke. Then, she wrapped the remnants of the hoodie around R.J.'s stomach, tying it tightly around his back.

"We're getting you out of here," she told R.J. confidently.

"I know," he answered, coughing.

Michelle and Brooke picked up R.J. and held him over their shoulders. They then started carrying him down the steps. He was loosing more feeling in his sides each moment. His eyelids started to grow heavy. He passed out.

The next time R.J. opened his eyes, he was laying in a hospital bed. Brooke was sitting across the room, reading a book. Meanwhile, Michelle was sitting staring out the window. He tried to sit up, but his chest ached and he laid back down.

"He's up!" Brooke said, after hearing him grunt a little. Brooke immediately set down her book, and stood up. "R.J?" she asked cautiously.

"Could you help me up," he asked. Brooke and Michelle helped R.J. pull himself to a sitting position, then he looked down at himself. For the first time, he realized he was hurt pretty bad. His right arm was in a cast and sling. His stomach was wrapped in bandages, and his left arm was scratched up.

"You saved us," Brooke said softly.

"No," R.J. answered, "I didn't"

"Of course you did."

"I was only trying to help. You would have done the same. You have done the same. Your the heroes here."

"How can you be so modest? You tackled Entei and pulled him aside."

"We all did. I just happened to do it first. And then after that, you saved me."

"Brooke got a smile. On her face, then she gave R.J. a hug."

"Careful," he insisted. Brooke let go, and gave R.J. a warm smile. "How bad is it?"

"Well," Michelle started, "A broken arm, two broken ribs, some scratched, and some stitches. Oh, and it hurts."

"No it doesn't," R.J. said confused.

"Wait till the pain meds wear off. They don't work on Auras.

R.J. gave her a strange glance, and then decided she probably knew what she was talking about.

"Michelle," R.J. called. "I stand by what I said."

"Whats that?"

"Your hoodie is comfortable. Too bad you had to kill it."

Michelle smiled, and then nodded in agreement.

"We'll have to get a new one then," Michelle added.

"What do we do know," Brooke asked.

R.J. stood up and gazed out the window curiously.

"I'm not sure. I guess we go home."

Off in the distance Entei still stood atop the temple, regretting all the harm he had done to people. Michelle had later explained that long ago, Johnathan had caught Entei. When he died, Entei became upset and aggressive, just like Houndoom.

A flock of birds flew off among the forest. The sun shined brightly over the entire landscape. The start, of a bright new day.

Epilogue

(special thanks to Michelle for writing the Epilogue)

One Year Later…

_DING-DOOOONG!_

"Could you get the door?" R.J.'s mom called from down the hall.

R.J. stood and stretched. Tomorrow was the last day of school at the Johto Pokémon Trainers Academy, and there was still an end-of-term paper to finish.

His Cyndaquil was already at the door, running around in circles, when he got there. He opened the door to see who it was.

"Hey! What's up?"

Standing at the door were Michelle, whose hair had gotten even longer, and Brooke, whose hair had gotten shorter. Both were smiling, and by the looks of their gear, they had been traveling for a while. Michelle's Piplup was clinging happily to her head, and Brooke's Ivysaur was standing by her side, and looked happy to see R.J.

R.J. smiled, though he was confused. It had been a while since the three had seen each other, considering Michelle lived in Sinnoh and Brooke lived in Kanto. With R.J.'s classes, Brooke's Pokémon competitions, and Michelle's work as a Pokémon doctor, there was very little time for visiting.

"Why are you…? What are you doing here?" he asked, stepping out onto the porch. It was unusual to see even one of them, let alone both.

Brooke grinned widely and seemed to have difficulty containing her excitement. This tended to happen a lot.

"See if you can guess," she said.

"Naww, let's just tell him," said Michelle. She reached into the pack on her shoulder and fished through it, looking for something.

"Tell me what?" asked R.J.

Michelle pulled a slightly crumpled paper from her pack and held it up. It read,

_To Ms. Michelle Sauls_

_ We at the Sinnoh Pokémon Research Center are pleased to inform you that you have succeeded in passing the Standardized Pokémon Researcher Exam._

_ Please take this letter to the Research Center for signing by Professor Rowan to receive your Researcher license and Pok__é__dex._

_Sincerely,_

_The Professors and Staff of the Sinnoh Pokémon Research Center_

"You got a Researcher license?" asked R.J. "I thought you were working at a Pokémon Center?"

"Well, I was," said Michelle, with her smile fading. "But it was just too sad seeing Pokémon suffer all the time. It was a little too… _Painful_." Her eyes gazed vacantly at nothing, and R.J. knew that she was talking about auras.

"Anyway," said Michelle, suddenly more cheerful, "I decided to study to become a Pokémon Researcher. I took a course at the Center, passed the test, and got my license a couple of weeks ago."

"A couple of weeks? How come it took so long to get here?"

"Well, I went to go see Brooke first because Kanto is closer than Johto. She ended up coming with me, and then we left to go find you."

"Wouldn't it have been faster to just drive here?"

"Sure, but where's the fun in that?"

R.J. smiled. "Good point."

"Anyway," said Michelle, putting away the license, "We came all the way here to see if you'd like to come with us. Just like old times."

"It was just last year," said Brooke.

"I know, but a lot can happen in a year."

R.J.'s smile grew at this news. After being attacked and nearly killed by Entei the year before, he and his friends had given up on their Pokémon journey. Entei left a large scar across his arm and chest. The past year had been boring taking classes rather than traveling, so it would be nice to get out of the house again.

"So are you in or not?" asked Brooke.

"If my parents say it's okay," responded R.J. Cyndaquil ran excitedly around his feet, as though she knew what they were talking about.

"Cool. We'll be in the hotel down the street. I'll give you my Pokétch number." Michelle held up her wrist and flashed a blue wristwatch with a large screen. "It works kinda like a cell phone," she added, seeing R.J.'s confused expression.

Michelle scribbled down a phone number on a sticky note from her pack, and handed it to him.

R.J. looked down at the number and scrunched his eyebrows.

"Is that a 2, or… What number _is_ that?" he asked, trying to decipher Michelle's chicken scratch handwriting. Brooke laughed out loud and Michelle took back the paper, attempting to write more clearly. She handed the note back to R.J.

"Oh," he said, "That was a _3_."

Brooke laughed harder.

"How did you pass your exam if your writing is that bad?" she asked, looking at the barely readable numbers.

"Well… I dunno," Michelle confessed, chuckling a bit. "Anyway…" she continued, "Give me a call when you find out if you can come. Don't worry about money; we're being funded by the Research Center. Plus I get paid for my work," she smiled.

"Okay then," said R.J. "I'll let you know as soon as I find out."

Two days later, Michelle's Pokétch started ringing while they were eating breakfast. She pushed the red button below the screen to answer the call.

"Hello?" she said. The call was obviously coming from a cell phone, because no image appeared on the screen.

"Hey, it's me," R.J.'s voice said.

"Oh, hey! What's the scoop?" said Michelle. She and Brooke had been waiting for this call anxiously, and finally it was the moment of truth.

"It took some convincing, what with the whole Entei incident, but finally my parents agreed to let me come along," said R.J.

"All right!"

"Cool!"

Piplup responded to the excitement by clamping his beak on the watch.

"Augh! Piplup! Knock it off!" said Michelle, pulling Piplup away from the screen. "R.J., you still there?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm here," he said. "I see Piplup hasn't changed much."

"That's for sure," said Michelle dryly. Brooke laughed at Piplup's behavior.

"Okay, well… Do you want me to meet you guys at the hotel?" asked R.J.

"Yeah, sure. That'll work. We're making a stop at the Goldenrod department store later to pick up supplies for the trip. We can get a couple of tents and whatever else we need. Go ahead and bring whatever you want from home, as long as you can carry it."

"All right then. I'll see you guys in about an hour or two."

"'Kay. Bye." Michelle pushed the red button again to end the call.

A couple of hours later, R.J. arrived in the lobby of the hotel with his trusty backpack slung over a shoulder. Cyndaquil raced in excitedly and quickly sniffed out the table where Brooke and Michelle were sitting.

"Took ya long enough," chuckled Brooke, standing to greet her friend. Michelle stood as well, and Piplup briefly looked up from the food it was eating. Ivysaur walked calmly beside Brooke.

Brooke was sporting a half-sleeved tee shirt and jeans. She had definitely gotten taller over the last year, and had nearly caught up to Michelle.

Michelle looked surprisingly older. She wore a sleeveless red blouse and rolled-up jeans, and her hair was tied into a bun to keep it out of her face. On her left shoulder was a tattoo of an anchor.

_"You got a tattoo?"_ asked R.J., shocked beyond all belief at this development.

Michelle looked down at her left shoulder and smiled guiltily.

"Heh. Yeah. I got it a few months ago when I was visiting Pastoria City. I, uh… I really don't know why. I just wanted a tattoo. Plus I love the ocean, so an anchor seemed fitting."

R.J. stared for a moment. Michelle was the last person he would've expected to want to get a tattoo. But, as she had said a few days prior, a lot can happen in a year.

"Anyway…" said R.J., prying his eyes away from the anchor, "When exactly are we leaving?"

"Soon as we're all ready," said Michelle, hoisting a pack and gently lifting her struggling Piplup.

Brooke grabbed her supplies as well, and Ivysaur helped her carry a few things.

R.J. smiled and Michelle (grudgingly) allowed him to hold the door. The three of them started off down the road, ready to see who-knows-what meet who-knows-who. The morning sun shone brightly, lighting the world for a brand new day and a brand new adventure.

Special thanks goes to Brooke and Michelle (obviously) for helping me to write this story. You two provided a lot of the inspiration, and I enjoy all the enthusiasm I've got from it. I feel like there's more to be said, but I really suck at this sentimental stuff. So in the future keep adventuring, and keep together. :)


End file.
